Ana de Armas

Career

2006–2013: Early career in Cuba and success in Spain

De Armas' acting career began at the age of 16, when she made her debut in the romantic drama Rose of France with a cameo role[13]. Upon reaching adulthood, she moved to Madrid to develop her career in Spain. There she went through various auditions, and a week later she received one of the main roles in the TV series Black Lagoon, which brought her popularity. After participating in six seasons, Ana made the decision to leave the project in order to focus on her film career. In 2009, she starred in Sex, Parties and Lies, which became the highest grossing Spanish film of that year in the world. In the summer of 2010, de Armas began acting in the historical series Roman Spain. Legend". Despite the success of the series, in the spring of 2011 she decided to leave the project, having played 2 seasons.

2014-2020: Moving to Hollywood and career breakthrough

In 2014, Ana moved to the US to develop her career in Hollywood. She spoke English very poorly and during the first auditions she often "didn't even understand what she was saying"[4]. She spent four months on a full-time English course[14], not wanting to be limited to playing characters written specifically for Latin American actresses[12]. In 2015, she starred in two films with Keanu Reeves at once: in the thriller Who's There and the drama Daughter of God. In the same year, she appeared in the comedy Guys with Guns.

A noticeable rise in the career of the actress occurred after the release of the fantastic thriller "Blade Runner 2049" from director Denis Villeneuve, where Ana played the role of Joy - the beloved of the protagonist. De Armas' performance in this film was highly acclaimed and was hailed as a breakthrough role.

The next breakthrough in her career was the role of nurse Marta Cabrera in the film Knives Out. When the project was first talked about, she was half-hearted about the idea of ​​playing the stereotypical "Hispanic babysitter", but soon realized that her character was "something much more". Tom Shun of The Times remarked, "The film stands out for the performance of its least known member, the Cuban de Armas, who manages the difficult task of making good interesting."[20] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian said that her "striking" performance left "a lasting impression".[21] The film became one of the most discussed in 2019, and was also successful at the box office[22]. De Armas received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy,[23] and the cast received the National Board of Film Critics Award for Best Ensemble Cast.

Her mother Ana worked in the Human Resources Department of the Ministry of Education[5]. De Armas has an older brother, Javier, who works as a photographer and now lives in New York. In 2020, he was interrogated by the Cuban police because of his critical position regarding one of the Cuban laws, according to which artists must obtain prior permission to hold public and private exhibitions and performances, as well as his connections with artists under government supervision[6 ]. Although Ana grew up with food rationing, fuel shortages and power outages during Cuba's Special Period, she described her childhood as happy.

As a teenager, Ana did not have Internet access and knew little about popular culture outside of Cuba.[8] She was allowed to watch "cartoons for 20 minutes on Saturday and the morning program on Sundays"[9]. Her family did not have a video or DVD player, and she watched Hollywood movies at her friend's house[10]. She memorized and rehearsed monologues in front of a mirror, and at the age of 12 she decided that she wanted to become an actress[11]. In 2002, at the age of 14, she successfully auditioned for the National Theater School of Cuba in Havana and often hitchhiked to school. As a student, she appeared in three films and decided to leave the four-year drama course a few months before her graduation, as Cuban graduates are not allowed to leave the country without completing three years of public service. At the age of 18, having acquired Spanish citizenship through her maternal grandparents, Ana moved to Madrid to further her career.