Ana de Armas admitted she found it a ‘big torture’ mastering Marilyn Monroe’s accent for the movie Blonde.
The Cuban-born actress stars in the upcoming biopic as the late American screen legend and it took her nine months to get to grips with the correct tone of the dialogue, leaving her brain ‘fried.’
Asked if she mastered Marilyn’s American accent, she said: ‘I tried! It only took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing, and some ADR sessions [rerecording dialogue after filming].’
A hard role: Ana de Armas admitted she found it ‘big torture’ mastering Marilyn Monroe’s accent for Blonde. Seen with Adrien Brody on set in Malibu in 2019
Blonde ambition: Monroe was best known for the films Some Like It Hot (1959) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). She lived from 1926 until 1962
The ex-girlfriend of Ben Affleck then said, ‘It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried.’
Monroe was best known for the films Some Like It Hot (1959) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). She lived from 1926 until 1962 and is still regarded as one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood history.
The 32-year-old Ana could see similarities between women acting now to those on screen in Marilyn’s heyday.
She said in an interview with Sunday Times’ Style magazine: ‘I had a lot of thoughts as a woman in the industry, and even in general, about how things from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s are so relatable to nowadays.
‘And how if you don’t have a strong base, with your family and so on, it’s really hard to make it through — really hard.’
Her ex: The siren recently split from her Deep Water co-star Ben Affleck; seen in 2020
When Ana first moved to the US, she could not speak English but still went out auditioning for film roles and would learn her scripts by their sounds alone.
She admitted: ‘In the beginning I was not getting it at all. But, you know, it’s getting better!’
The Knives Out star admitted her success has stunned her parents. She said: ‘It blows their minds, it’s too much for them.’
A hard worker: When Ana first moved to the US, she couldn’t speak English but still went out auditioning for film roles and would learn her scripts by their sounds alone. She admitted: ‘In the beginning I was not getting it at all. But, you know, it’s getting better!’
However, she joked she sometimes has to remind them that she’s become a name in Hollywood.
She quipped: ‘Sometimes, you know, I’ll call my mum and say, I’m doing this movie, and she’ll say, “Who’s in it?” And I’ll be, like, “I am!”‘
She landed the cover of The Sunday Times Style
This comes after Armas said he feels like she’s always been ‘in the right place at the right time’.
The star has had a string of successful acting roles but she is convinced that she was just ‘lucky’ to get those parts and it is all about being in the right situation.
Speaking about her illustrious career, she said: ‘I don’t know. I’ve always felt like, this thing of being in the right place at the right time with the right people, that has kind of been my life. I feel like being brave, combined with that, has made me feel lucky.
‘So every time I have that instinct, that my gut is telling me to get on a plane, I go with it – because I feel like the result of that is gonna be good!’
Another hit movie for 2021: Here the Cuban born beauty is seen with Daniel Craig in the next Bond film No Time To Die
Ana admitted it was her ‘curiosity’ and ‘ambition’ that saw her leave Cuba for her acting career.
She shared to the Times: ‘I just felt like I’ve always wanted more in everything in my life. I’ve been very ambitious and curious and I wanted to do more. In Cuba you live in a bubble. I didn’t know what the world was like.
‘I had never traveled before in my life … I guess – and I mean it in the best possible way – being ignorant about some things may help you, because you don’t have any fear. I just went and did it. If I had to do it now, knowing what it’s like and what I had to go through, I’d be scared. But I’m glad I did it. I didn’t think about it twice.’