The Untold Truth Of Ana De Armas
Ana de Armas has become a household name with films such as "Knives Out" and "Blade Runner 2049" Most recently audiences will see her step into the iconic shoes of Marilyn Monroe in the Andrew Dominik biopic film "Blonde." And while it may seem as though de Armas just burst on the scene, she's been in the industry long before her breakout role in Hollywood. This may lead many to ask, what's the deal with Hollywood's new 'it girl'?
De Armas is typically seen to be an incredibly private person when it comes to her personal life. However, when she and "Deep Water" co-star Ben Affleck went public with their relationship in 2020, her personal life suddenly became public knowledge (via Cosmopolitan). She and Affleck parted ways in early 2021, bringing back a hint of mystery to the actress. Luckily, we're here to uncover 10 of the best-untold truths about Ana de Armas that you might be surprised to learn.
Always focused on acting
Ana de Armas sat down with Flaunt to discuss her blossoming career. She's forever thankful for her success, recalling that being an actress was the only job she ever wanted to have when she was younger. De Armas tells Flaunt that she never went through different phases in life as most children do. For as long as she could remember, being an actress was it for her.
"I don't remember feeling like I wanted to do anything else...since I was 11 or 12, I just started driving my parents crazy, just repeating on loop 'I want to be an actress, I want to be an actress'." Finally, her parents caved as de Armas went to drama school when she was living in Cuba. This gave her the opportunity to work and study her craft at the same time. De Armas recalls that being on set was a part of her curriculum — this allowed her to learn more about the industry outside of acting. She learned about directing, showing up to set on time, and the importance of learning your lines.
It's because of this education that de Armas was able to work on her first film project at just 16 years old. And after that, she was hooked, telling Flaunt, "I just wanted to do more and more." And when she was old enough she moved to Spain at 18 to pursue her dream career.
She learned English in four months
Once de Armas moved from Cuba to Spain she worked on a variety of Spanish films and shorts. However, she had a taste for bigger projects, resulting in her move to America. There was just one issue, de Armas couldn't speak English at the time.
She made the move to America after she was cast in the widely successful Spanish film. "El Internado" (also known as "The Boarding School"). She no longer felt inspired in Spain and wanted to challenge herself as she was still being cast in teen roles (via Vanity Fair). Once de Armas landed in Los Angeles she learned English in four months. She tells Vanity Fair that she did so out of necessity, recalling how she would spend seven hours a day in a classroom to learn. This was vital to her career as an actress, and she committed to the process in order to become successful.
Although she has since become fluent in the language, de Armas doesn't spend the majority of her time in America. Instead, she bought a home in Havana, Cuba, mere steps from where she grew up, and she chooses to go back and forth between her home and the States (via Flaunt).
Her own standard on beauty
De Armas sat down with Harper Bazaar to discuss her becoming the latest ambassador for Estée Lauder. While her newest title is an honor for the actress, she detailed how (growing up in Cuba) her experience with beauty standards and the beauty industry was very different than those who grew up with Western ideals.
She recalls that by growing up in Cuba she didn't have the same beauty products as in America. Instead, her community was all about making your own products. They had a very DIY attitude because they had no other choice. It's because of this that she thinks she has a more positive outlook on beauty standards, telling Harper Bazaar, "I think beauty was more about enhancing your own natural beauty and taking care of your skin... I definitely didn't grow up with this ideal of beauty or people comparing each other or things like that. It was very healthy mentally, I suppose, for a young girl growing up."
This opinion is why de Armas is so proud to be an ambassador for Estée Lauder as she believes that the company matches her own standards and ideals of beauty.
She almost said no to Knives Out
For many, it was de Armas's role in "Blade Runner 2049" or in "Knives Out" that made her a recognizable face for North American audiences. However, the actress almost turned down her role in the latter film as she felt that it was too much of a stereotype.
She told Vanity Fair that her role of Marta in "Knives Out" was described as "Latina caretaker, pretty" and that was it. She was hesitant to take a role that had no character development, and she also expressed concern over the fact that many Latina women are pigeonholed as being sexy, having a temper, or being a caretaker. Luckily, this wasn't the case with her role in the film, and de Armas gladly signed on to play Marta.
The actress has discussed a big change in the industry, especially with the #MeToo movement taking Hollywood by storm, but says there's still a lot more that needs to change. And while she's been lucky to have worked with good people throughout her career, not everyone has had the same positive experience.
Ana de Armas was married
Although de Armas likes to keep her personal life private, her relationship with co-star Ben Affleck made headline news seemingly every day the two were a couple. This even continued after they broke up in 2021 when Affleck went back to his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez a few months later. What might be unknown about de Armas's relationship with Affleck is that prior to being with him, she was actually married to someone else.
From 2011 to 2013, de Armas was married to Spanish actor and model Marc Clotet. According to The Things, de Armas spoke with the publication Diez Minutos about her divorce saying that it ended amicably and that the two were still friends. Clotet is a popular actor — he started his career working on various Spanish soap operas and modeling. However, he's recently crossed over into American television with his role in the Netflix series "The Hockey Girls." After his split with de Armas, Clotet found love with fellow actress Natalie Sanchez. The couple has two children who they happily share pictures of on social media.
She had a role removed from a film
"Yesterday" is a romantic comedy about a struggling musician Jack who wakes up one day to discover that he's the only person who knows The Beatles and their music. He decides to use their songs to become famous as he's unable to do so on his own. You would be forgiven for not knowing that de Armas was cast in this film because her entire character was removed in editing.
De Armas was meant to play the character Roxanne, a woman that was supposed to be in a love triangle with Jack (Himesh Patel) and Ellie (Lily James). According to CinemaBlend, screenplay writer Richard Curtis said there were a few factors that lead to them cutting Roxanne from the film. The first reason was that they wanted audiences to root for Jack and Ellie being together, and they felt de Armas was too radiant in the film as Roxanne. They also didn't want audiences to get upset with Jack for having a wandering eye away from Ellie. Unfortunately, because of this, they cut the role, which was disappointing for them as Curtis said that working with de Armas was a joy.
Playing Marilyn Monroe
When Ana de Armas walked into the room for her audition as Marilyn Monroe for Andrew Dominik's 2022 "Blonde" she knocked it out of the park. She told Vanity Fair that from her first audition, Dominik told her she was the one and that the part was hers. After that, it was only a matter of proving it to everyone else (such as the producers), but when you have the writer and director on your side, it's pretty clear that she would make a wonderful Marilyn Monroe.
This role is incredibly special for de Armas to play. She told Vanity Fair that "Playing Marilyn was groundbreaking. A Cuban playing Marilyn Monroe. I wanted it so badly." What's most interesting is that de Armas nailed her audition right off the bat without having much knowledge about the character. However, once she got the role, she immersed herself in the character, learning all that she could about Monroe's life so that she could give her best performance. While other actresses have famously portrayed Monroe, de Armas identifies with her in a profound way and truly wants that to come across in her performance.
Small dog lover
One way Ana de Armas made the role of Marilyn Monroe intimately her own was by casting her very own dog in the film. That's right, Monroe's famous dog Mafia will be portrayed by de Armas's dog who she's named Elvis. De Armas told Flaunt that Elvis is enjoying his newfound fame as he steps his paws into the role of Mafia, the dog that Monroe was gifted by Frank Sinatra. Monroe's dog was allegedly very close to the actress, so it makes sense to cast de Armas's own dog as he looks very similar to Mafia, and already has a comfort with his mom.
Recently de Armas has expanded her puppy family as she got Elvis a sibling, Salsa. According to People, Salsa was brought home with de Armas in 2020 when she posted a series of adorable pictures of the puppy on her Instagram. Luckily, Elvis is still getting his much-needed attention as he's about to experience his first taste of fame with the upcoming release of "Blonde."
She travels light
During de Armas's interview with Vanity Fair, she shared an inside secret that she does when flying. Instead of bringing a suitcase full of clothes, de Armas packs it with supplies that people might need. If she needs to make Hollywood appearances, such as going to red carpets or having interviews, her stylist will give her outfits to wear as she typically doesn't have anything with her.
"I came straight from Havana, so I've been wearing my plane clothes. My suitcases go full of clothing or medicine or supplies — whatever people need — and come back empty. My stylist gave me this Saint Laurent suit so I'd look cool. I don't wear this in real life." While de Armas loves her life in Hollywood, she doesn't want it to be her reality 24/7. That's why she prefers to fly in when she needs to before returning back home to Havana, as it's where she grew up and where most of her friends and family still reside.
Ana de Armas refused to cut her hair for a role
Upon landing her breakout role in "Blade Runner 2049" de Armas had one stipulation, and it wasn't about being naked in the film — it was about cutting her hair. She wasn't going to do it. De Armas went on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" to jokingly share how she was not okay with cutting her hair, and she insisted that they give her a wig instead.
But that isn't the case in 2022 — when de Armas stars in a film with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. She told Elle, "We started discussing what we wanted my character to look like and how that would work with all the action and we found all these pictures of really short hair. Action films don't really work with wearing wigs so I was like, 'I'm going for it, let's cut it for real'."