Playing Marilyn Monroe would be a daunting job even for the most experienced actors, but even more so for an actor taking on the starring part for the first time. Ana de Armas has taken on that challenge, and that too, as Marilyn Monroe on screen! For the writer-director Andrew Dominik’s adaptation of the 2000 novel of the same name, de Armas has portrayed the iconic lady at several stages of her life. De Armas has bravely embraced the challenges of Monroe’s dynamic, successful life full of strife and pain in every scene. With her amazing performance, the actress has even bagged an Oscar nomination for her lifelike portrayal.
A screen of strife: Ana de Armas on the challenges of her role
According to de Armas, playing Marilyn Monroe, the white iconic actress was itself a huge risk for a Cuban actress like her. In an interview, the actress expressed that she never thought she would face the challenge of playing such an iconic personality. In much doubt regarding how her Australian director could ever conceive her as Monroe. Here are some of the challenges de Armas has noted in playing the character for the big screen.
- Getting it right: Ana de Armas was very skeptical about playing Monroe from the very first day of filming. Her thoughts were that she would never be able to work again if she disappointed the audience with an unsatisfactory performance.
- Identifying with her role: Throughout her performance, de Armas made concerted efforts to embrace her role and relate as much as possible to the personality for her portrayal to be lifelike. In the process, she found that she had much more in common with Monroe than she had initially thought.
- Voicing and speaking Monroe: Opening up about the preparations for her role, de Armas noted how she took nine months to train herself to get Monroe’s voice and dialect right. The process was very difficult for the Cuban actress.
Crew members shed light on de Armas’ transformation into Monroe
Monroe had her humble start as Norma Jeane Baker, with much childhood trauma that had shaped her life. From that part of the icon’s life to the disturbed relationships and marriages, de Armas acted out every scene perfectly. The actress beautifully brought out all the complexities of Monroe’s life, including the glaring spotlight of celebrity life, abuse suffered by powerful men, and familial strain.
Here are some incidences of the film’s crew members who have shed light on Ana’s performance on set
- Andrew Dominik: According to the writer-director, Ana was always ready to experiment and explore diverse aspects of the character. This is what helped the entire crew to bring Monroe to life with as much verisimilitude as possible.
- Josh Bramer: The prop master for the film, Bramer notes how sincerely Ana had perused Monroe’s journals to find out about all the things that went on in her character’s mind.
- Jennifer Johnson: The costume designer on set praises Ana’s spirited behavior, sense of humor, and depth. She shares how Ana gracefully handled nearly 100 costume changes throughout the film.
Ballerina and de Armas’ challenge to further cinematic legacy
Ana de Armas’ upcoming John Wick spinoff is expected to continue the legacy of the franchise excitingly by showcasing her action-filled scenes. In the film, de Armas’ character, Rooney, will exact her revenge against her family’s murderers. So, what will be the challenges for the actress in this part?
- Genre shift: De Armas is primarily known for her roles in romantic comedies. However, here she is set to make a bold statement with a total genre shift.
- Action scenes: The John Wick franchise is famous for well-choreographed fight scenes and riveting violence. De Armas will need to be strongly faithful to the expectations of the action genre.
- Audience expectations: Launching a spinoff into the world of a popular franchise requires the actors to be extra competitive. De Armas wants to do her very best to meet the audience’s expectations for the spinoff.
Conclusion
Ana de Armas has shown her caliber as a versatile performer on the silver screen with her immensely successful portrayal of Marlyn Monroe in Blonde. Embracing all the challenges that came with her role, de Armas has won the hearts of audiences. As the coming year gets ready to welcome her character in the John Wick Spinoff Ballerina, it is expected that her acting will again exceed the expectations of the audience.