Ana de Armas is looking for more challenges.
The Oscar-nominated star of “Blonde” is on the new cover of Vanity Fair‘s Hollywood Issue, and in it she opens up about feeling a connection to Marilyn Monroe.
READ MORE: Marilyn Monroe Biopic ‘Blonde’ Starring Ana De Armas Gets 11-Minute Standing Ovation
“There was a lot there that I could relate to. If you put Marilyn Monroe ‘the movie star’ aside, she’s just an actress trying to navigate life and this system, which is so hard to navigate for anybody,” de Armas says. “On top of that, you add this point of view of Andrew’s, which was to see that through her trauma. I truly thought it was going to do justice to a more dimensional human being, because I wouldn’t want to be remembered just for one thing. I am more than just an actress on the cover of a magazine.
Playing Monroe in “Blonde” was also about diving into the more difficult and sordid sides of Hollywood history.
“The sad part for me—and the most challenging—is to see not only what happened in the ’40s and ’50s and ’60s but to see patterns continue to happen,” the actress says. “It’s definitely made me more protective of myself and set boundaries and know my limits for how much I’m willing to give—and how much I want to keep to myself. But at the same time, it clearly is a place where incredible opportunities happen. I’m very grateful to be working in the industry.”
With Monroe having been such a big and iconic movie star, it’s an open question whether new movie stars really exist today in the same way.
“I feel like the new generations don’t have that concept, because of social media,” de Armas theorizes. “There is so much information out there and oversharing. The concept of a movie star is someone untouchable you only see onscreen. That mystery is gone. For the most part, we’ve done that to ourselves—nobody’s keeping anything from anyone anymore.”
Her Oscar-nominated role in the film might also offer up more opportunities for de Armas, who also recently appeared in a small role in Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film, “No Time to Die”, and will soon be starring in the “John Wick” spin-off “Ballerina”.
“After Bond, there was kind of a wave of all these action roles, and that was fun,” she says. “I chose from the ones that I thought were more exciting or with people I wanted to work with.”
But, de Armas adds, “I feel like ‘Ballerina’ is going to be the end of that, at least for now, because I’m craving a wave of ‘Blonde’-type films. I want to do work with directors and do character work. I have had the opportunity to meet directors that I want to work with. The people that I’m getting access to is changing, and that makes me very excited.”
