Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Friday 6 december 2019
From ‘Knives Out’ to Bond, Ana de Armas is on the rise

By LINDSEY BAHR actress has been feeling
Associated Press a little frazzled lately. It’s
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ana been hard to find time to
de Armas is fumbling with eat, let alone do a spot
a packet of sugar and check in a mirror.
talking about her break- De Armas left the New Or-
neck schedule on a recent leans set of Adrian Lyne’s
afternoon in Los Angeles Patricia Highsmith adap-
when her already enor- tation “Deep Water” the
mous almond eyes widen night before to attend the
even further. premiere of Rian Johnson’s
“Do I have avocado on my Agatha Christie-inspired
face?” she asks somewhat whodunnit “Knives Out,”
nervously. She doesn’t, but which opens on Thanksgiv-
the 31-year-old Cuba-born ing. It was a brief respite;

This image released by Lionsgate shows Ana de Armas in a scene from “Knives Out.”
Associated Press

after a few days of inter- of her ethnicity and pushes meetings, even though I
views, de Armas flew back her team to send her out couldn’t understand half
to continue filming. on auditions for everything. of it.”
And it’s been that way for a This innate determination Her big break came in true
few years now. She’s filmed and unwillingness to settle Hollywood fashion. Stand-
not only “Knives Out,” but has gotten her where she ing at the valet outside the
the next James Bond, “No is and now she’s on the CAA agency, producer
Time To Die,” the Marilyn brink of full-fledged star- Colleen Camp spotted
Monroe movie “Blonde” dom. After attending the- her and started taking pic-
(she plays none other than ater school in Havana, she tures and screaming about
the former Norma Jeane) moved to Madrid with $300 how she had to meet Eli
and a film about the late saved up to try a bigger Roth immediately. They
United Nations diplomat pond. It was an amount were casting for the thriller
Sergio Vieira de Mello. that she assumed would “Knock Knock” with Keanu
In fact, she was looking help her survive for a few Reeves, but de Armas was
forward to a little bit of a months (it would have in literally on her way to the
break when “Knives Out” Cuba) but she quickly dis- airport.
came her way at the tail covered otherwise. Still, de She managed to meet
end of the grueling three- Armas found a way and Roth, suitcases in hand,
month shoot for “Sergio” in started landing roles in and make the flight. They
Thailand. And the descrip- television and film. After 8 closed the deal the next
tion she got wasn’t exactly years there, she was ready day.
an enticing one. to move on and try Hol- “My agent was like, ‘I need
“I get this email saying, lywood even though she to take you out to lunch
‘Nurse in a house and she’s knew very little English. more often,’” de Armas
Latina and she’s pretty One thing she had go- said, laughing. Still a little
and this is the scene,’” ing for her was that she shaky with English, she got
she recalled. “And I was had an agent and man- through the shoot by pro-
like ‘Are you kidding me? ager, thanks to her “Hands nouncing her lines phoneti-
I don’t know what this is of Stone” co-star Edgar cally.
about.’ That little descrip- Ramirez, who had intro- “Knock Knock” opened
tion doesn’t say anything duced her to his team. the doors for other oppor-
to me, it doesn’t speak to When she arrived in Los tunities. She landed a role
me.” Angeles, where she and in Todd Phillips’ “War Dogs”
De Armas knew that John- a friend rented a single and then in “Blade Runner
son had written and would room and shared a bed, 2049” as Ryan Gosling’s
direct the film and that a de Armas enrolled in Eng- hologram girlfriend. It’s
big star, Daniel Craig, was lish classes but also told also why Andrew Dominik
attached. She’s also pro- her agents that she didn’t thought of her to play Mari-
tective of her career and want to wait. She wanted lyn Monroe.
needed to know more be- to start auditioning. De Armas knows she’s de-
fore she would even agree “I was clear that the rea- manding with her team.
to audition. Although she son I was here was not to She had to fight for access
speaks naturally with an get a degree in English,” to the closely guarded
accent, she’s worked hard she said. “Knives Out” script, but af-
to prove herself capable of “I forced them to send ter she read it she realized
playing characters outside me out to auditions and she had to do it. q