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When Ana de Armas first broke onto the Hollywood scene about a decade or so ago, few, if any would have guessed she’d go on to become a bonafide action ace — including de Armas herself.
After first breaking into the business in 2015 — coincidentally starring alongside Keanu Reeves in the Eli Roth film Knock Knock — Ana de Armas began to make a name for herself with supporting roles in films such as Hands of Stone and War Dogs, playing the charming and obviously stunning love interest.
That all changed with her role in Blade Runner 2049, though — don’t worry, we talk plenty about Denis Villeneuve’s seminal 2017 sci-fi epic — and put her on track to join the entertainment world’s A-list, which was then confirmed with her starring role in Rian Johnson’s 2019 whodunit Knives Out.
From there, not only would she land an Academy Award nomination for playing one of the most famous American women of all time, Marilyn Monroe, but her career began shifting in a way she never would have predicted: she began to become an action star.
It first began with a scene-stealing role in her native Cuba as Paloma in No Time To Die, the final Daniel Craig-starring James Bond film, and continued into the Russo Brothers’ The Gray Man and the misfired AppleTV+ vehicle Ghosted (still, regardless how the movie turns out, the training and execution of stuntwork counts all the same).
With Ballerina, though, de Armas takes her butt-kicking chops to an entirely new level as she enters the world of John Wick, not only the definitive action franchise of the last decade, but one of the historic entries into the history of action cinema, known for its popularization and perfection of the cinematic fighting style known as “gun fu.”
Speaking to BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast ahead of the release of the film, de Armas detailed how she never thought she’d be in action movies — “I never thought I was athletic enough or strong enough,” she says — what she learned from the legendary Keanu Reeves, the pride she feels in doing her own stunts, handling over 20 weapons across the course of the film, her memories from Blade Runner 2049, and more!
Including guns and a flamethrower, de Armas uses over 20 different weapons in Ballerina
Eric Italiano, BroBible: Folks, today I am thrilled to be joined by the one and only Ana de Armas, whose new film ‘Ballerina’ hits theaters on June 6. Thank you so much for your time today!
Ana de Armas: “Thank you for that introduction!”
EI: You’re welcome! Usually, I will list the movies you’ve been in, but with you, I just need the name and the film. I truly tried to keep track of them all, so give me a second here, because there are a lot of them. Not counting guns and a flamethrower, you fight with: a frozen pipe, an ice pick, steel rebar, hammers, grenades, forks, knives, a lantern, plate, meat tenderizer, meat cleaver, screwdriver, axe, sword, and ice skates. Which of those were the most fun or sort of the hardest to use?
DE ARMAS: “Oh, I mean, it’s always hard to fight with something heavy, you know? For me, I would say it was really hard to fight with the ice skates, and it was really hard with the flamethrower. It was just crazy. I had both fights, and when they presented to me the ideas, I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ It was so much fun to even just look at the inspiration and the storyboards and all the ideas for the fight. But I was so on board with it because it was so original. Yeah, but you know, all of them were really difficult.”
EI: Have you seen ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’? There’s that scene where Leo’s character is like, “It’s too hot, can you turn it down?” And the guy on his side is like, “It’s a flamethrower.” Yeah, and I thought of that the whole time during that scene. But at least you had like a flamethrower coat on, so that helped you a little bit.
DE ARMAS: “Yes, it did. Yes, it did.”
Using her childhood in Cuba to draw inspiration for playing an isolated character in Eve Macarro
EI: I was reading about your childhood in Cuba, and you said in an interview with El País in 2017 — and I had to use Google Translate, so sorry if it’s not exactly correct — “As a child in Cuba, the outside world doesn’t exist. You have no idea what is going on outside.” Given that Eve’s journey is so deeply rooted in being cut off from the outside world, I’m curious how you drew from your own childhood, if at all.
DE ARMAS: “We want to know who we are, where we came from, what happened with our past, our families, why are we here, where we are. Not knowing what you’re meant to do or who you’re meant to be is just a very confusing thing for anybody. Especially for Eve, when she’s coming from a very wounded place after that horrible experience when she sees people killing her dad. And her entire life she’s been told, like, ‘Oh, that was just a random accident, nothing, you know, just let it go.’ And all of a sudden, she finds out that there is more to that and that she’s been carrying that pain and the rage. It’s just a very strong, visceral thing that we would all have to—you know, like—I mean, that’s part of—it’s just very compelling. It’s just really real. It’s a real thing. So it’s definitely something I could relate to easily.”
Trying to fill John Wick’s iconic shoes and the advice she got from Keanu Reeves
EI: John Wick is without a doubt the most iconic action hero of the last 10–15 years, and therefore all time. How did the weight of being — not only filling those shoes but being the first one to try it — feel?
DE ARMAS: “[laughs] Now you’re making me nervous!”
EI: Well, you crushed it. I’ve got to say, you are unbelievable. And I know it’s your job, but you are unbelievably believable in the most intense parts of this film. When I was watching, I was watching your face, just to make sure when I knew when it was you and when [it was your stunt double]. You’re in it a lot, and your face is intense, so I could see you really feel it too. Point being, how did you deal with that weight, and did Keanu give you any advice in that regard?
DE ARMAS: “Thank you. You know, I think I just came from a place of excitement. I was really a big fan of the franchise. I think what they’ve done with the John Wick universe is genius. It’s so cool, it’s so fun, and it’s so well done. And what Keanu has done with the character is incredible, so it was a no-brainer for me. I wanted to be a part of that. It’s such a great foundation for my film, and it felt very organic. It’s an origin story, but it’s very well placed in that time in the John Wick story.”
“It felt like a very natural extension of the world, like now from Eve’s point of view. And just having these actors on set, old characters and then new people—but all actors that I really wanted to work with — I just felt really supported in every way. And training with Keanu, the first day we got on the mat and started rehearsing the choreo, I was just looking at him, and I was like, ‘I hope I can just do it as best as I can — maybe as good as he does it.’ He’s just someone I enjoy so much being around, whether on set or not. He’s such a wonderful person. He never imposes anything or himself. He really is someone so generous on set. He’s there for you. He’s really servicing his colleagues. He gives you time to find what you need to find and to try things, and then when you’re ready, he steps in. It’s just so easy. You just feel good. It’s wonderful.”
EI: You touched on a feeling that I thought you might have — and it’s a bit extreme — but as I watched you fighting John Wick, I was like, is that like singing with Edith Piaf or dancing with Fred Astaire? You know, that is how sort of epic it felt to me.
DE ARMAS: [laughs] “It was really epic. I will never forget the moment he walked on set wearing the John Wick suit again for the first time. It was breathtaking. It was iconic. And he’s just so — I mean, this is what Keanu loves the most. He’s like a fish in the water. Just give him action and guns, and he’s so comfortable in this world. He loves it. He enjoys everything. It felt playful. I was having a blast.”
Taking pride in doing her stunts and putting her body on the line for the audience
EI: You did a Reddit AMA this week, and I thought it was really cool that the last thing you identified yourself as was an ‘occasional stuntwoman.’ Is doing your own stunts something that you wear as a badge of honor now? Why does that make you so proud? Because let me tell you, *you got your ass kicked in this*.
DE ARMAS: “I think I do now. I do feel very proud of it. I never thought in my entire life that I was going to do action films. Never. I never thought I was athletic enough or strong enough or — I just didn’t see myself in that position. But when you start training, and when you start getting through the process of improving your skills and learning new things, you feel more confident. Just getting better at whatever they ask you to do — it’s such a good feeling. You feel very accomplished and proud.”
“And when you’re doing an action film, you want to do it. You want to be a part of it. You train for so long — three, four months — and then, of course, on camera, you want it to be you. There’s so much pride in it. I had to do it. I wanted to also give the audiences that. That’s why we were pushing for longer scenes, longer takes. We wanted the audiences to see the longest possible shot — that it was me from beginning to end. No weird cuts here and there, nothing too choppy. It’s the full fight. And that is so hard to do.”
EI: For me, that’s the best part. The best part of the film are those scenes, and knowing it’s you and how 100% in you are.
How she brought humanity to Joi and realizing Blade Runner 2049 would be an iconic film
EI: You starred in one of my top five favorite films of all time. Do you have an idea of what I’m going to say?
DE ARMAS: Blade Runner?!
EI: Yup! Because of that, this is probably my only chance I’m ever going to have to ask you about it, so I’m going deep here. Okay? You play an AI that, as far as she knows, is in love. And to me, on one hand, love comes from our thoughts, our minds. If Joi thinks she’s in love, who’s to say that’s not real? When she’s given the gift of the emanator, when she’s killed — that’s as in love as anyone or anything is going to be. But on the other hand, she doesn’t have a soul, and therefore doesn’t have whatever part of love the soul accounts for, whatever that may be. Knowing all that, did you play her like a regular person in love, or did you add any sort of different layers to it that you thought might be what her kind of love is?
DE ARMAS: “To me, it was always real. Everything was real. I felt it as much as I would have with any other character. She was a real woman to me. Very much in love. Very much suffering from her limitations. She was very aware of what she could do and what she couldn’t. In the end, she just makes the ultimate sacrifice—she lets him go. She knew it was not going to be possible. But what a beautiful drama, right?”
EI: Not only the fact that it gets me to think these things—but how gorgeous it looks. To me, this is one of the best sci-fi films of all time.
DE ARMAS: “It is wonderful. Working with Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins—I mean, I was blown away.”
EI: Do you remember a specific moment where that clicked for you? It could be when you were shooting, or when you first saw it, where you were like, ‘Holy s—, this is something else.’
DE ARMAS: “Definitely when I was shooting. We would walk on set and it was all practical sets. Roger Deakins did all the lights. Flying cars and all that—for real. These were things—like, when we’re at K’s apartment and you see lights moving out the window—those were for real. Just the way he lit the set and the rain and just everything—it was magical. Like the scene with Mackenzie Davis, when we’re merging…”
EI: I just re-watched that today! It’s unbelievable, I’ve never seen anything like it!
DE ARMAS: “I know! I know. And you know what? It’s one of those moments where you’re like, ‘I just can’t believe I’m doing this.’ But even then, you’re not fully aware of what you’re doing. I think it took me a year — by the time the movie came out — to actually understand what it meant for me, and for the history of cinema. To be a part of that movie is something I will never forget. Every moment.”
Everyone in the John Wick world has a signature drink — what should Eve Macarro’s be?
EI: Yeah, me either, so congrats on that film and this one, too. Everyone in the John Wick world seems to have their own drink. John Wick likes bourbon. Common drinks gin in John Wick 2. Ian McShane has a martini in this one. What should Eve’s drink be?
DE ARMAS: Oh wow… I think — I was going to go for a martini too. But let’s go with a tequila shot. You know, why not?
EI: Thank you for your time. Keep kicking ass, because you absolutely did in this.
DE ARMAS: Thank you. Thank you so much.
Alongside de Armas in the titular role, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina also features Keanu Reeves returning as the legendary Baba Yaga alongside Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, and Lance Reddick in a posthumous performance.