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Ana de Armas recalls seeing herself as Marilyn Monroe for the first time: ‘It felt like she was back’

In a recent Sunday Sitdown, Ana de Armas reflected on her rise to fame in Hollywood as well as her most recent role portraying the late Marilyn Monroe.

For months, Ana de Armas has made headlines for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the historical drama “Blonde.”

First, it was for her incredible visual transformation to resemble the late Hollywood icon. Later, for criticism surrounding her accent in the film, which was defended by Monroe’s estate and de Armas herself.

The 34-year-old actor isn’t worried about the criticism surrounding the movie, though. During a recent Sunday Sitdown with TODAY’s Willie Geist, the actor opened up about her experience portraying the beloved, and often misunderstood, Hollywood icon.

When asked by Willie where she began to prepare for her role as Monroe — born Norma Jeane Mortenson — in the film, de Armas said, “It was kind of a slow process of discovering who not just the movie star was, but who was Norma Jeane.”

“I didn’t know that much about her,” de Armas admitted. “I’m Cuban. I saw maybe a few movies of her, so everything was a big discovery.” 

Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist - Season 36
Ana de Armas and Willie Geist on September 18, 2022Nathan Congleton / NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

The film is not a biopic, but rather a movie based on the 2000 novel of the same name, by Joyce Carol Oates. De Armas says the film examines the “perception that we have of success and fame and glamor.”

“I feel like the movie shows the other side of that and the price that you pay for that,” she explained. “People wanted Marilyn, they wanted that product. She had to keep delivering that because the opposite was nothing. She was nothing else. She was not considered anything else.”

De Armas recalled seeing herself as Monroe for the first time and said she was unable to describe the moment. 

“Everyone in the room started crying, I can tell you that,” she said. “It was very emotional. It felt like she was back.”

For nine weeks, de Armas embodied Monroe for the film, calling the experience “exhausting.” However, she said it paled in comparison to Monroe’s actual life, adding, “I just cannot imagine what it was like to be her for 36 years.”

When de Armas was a teenager, she hitchhiked to drama school at the National Theatre of Cuba in Havana, joking to Willie that “it was quicker than getting the bus.” 

She kickstarted her career in her native Cuba, starring in the romantic drama “Una Rosa de Francia” as well as series of other projects before moving to Spain when she turned 18, starring in several TV shows and movies before ultimately making the move to Los Angeles in 2014.

Her career in the United States began with a role opposite of Keanu Reeves in “Knock Knock” followed by subsequent parts in “War Dogs," “Blade Runner 2049,” and “Knives Out,” a role which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a musical/comedy.

De Armas told Willie that her family and friends back in Cuba are “very, very proud,” describing a recent moment from an old classmate from National Theatre of Cuba.

“The other day, a classmate from my drama school, he had posted this picture and he said something like, ‘Remember Ana, when we were all together studying and having dreams, now she’s about to do the impossible: She’s about to play Marilyn Monroe in this movie and we should all be so proud of her,’” she said. “It was really beautiful. It makes me proud to make them proud.”

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