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Ana de Armas has rapidly established herself as one of Hollywood's most exciting talents. Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1988, de Armas started acting early on and featured in mostly Spanish-language film and television projects before making an eventual splash in Hollywood. Her range and charisma on screen have garnered them critical praise and a loyal fan base.
From her breakout role in Knives Out to her incredible Oscar-nominated performance in Blonde, the actress has shown an incredible range and expertise in the craft, previously leading to multiple iconic roles. As she celebrates her 37th birthday, here are five of her best films that highlight the powerhouse of talent she is and will certainly make you a fan.
Knives Out
In Knives Out, Ana de Armas plays Marta Cabrera, a kind, humble nurse who finds herself thrust into the thick of a manic murder mystery swirling around the rich and famous Thrombley family. Surrounded by famous faces like Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Jamie Lee Curtis, de Armas shines with a subdued yet explosive performance that bears the weight of the world.
The actress transfers emotional weight to Marta's feelings of guilt, dread, and eventual confidence to bring herself back to the fore as the actual sympathetic hero of the movie. Through small, portioned facial expressions, concomitant flushing in her face, and mannered panic attacks, de Armas's dedication to empathy allows viewers to connect very deeply with Marta as an actual human being very quickly, even as the plot twists thicken.
The role earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, and recognition that she can do the depth of dramatic, emotional, and tricky comic timing. If you're getting started on Ana's legacy in Hollywood, this is a good place to start.
Blade Runner 2049
In Blade Runner 2049, Ana De Armas plays Joi, a digital AI programmed to be a perfect romantic companion. Joi is a hologram. In this film about replicants, Joi is the most human character; the most emotionally grounded character. She is partnered with Officer K, played by Ryan Gosling, a replicant grappling with issues of identity, and their relationship explores many of the film's themes of love, consciousness, and what it means to be "real."
The actress brings Joi to life with vulnerability, warmth, and longing, involving the audience in a character who is more human at her core than most other flesh-and-blood characters. Her performance adds to the complexity of the character Joi, who is a corporate product designed to serve a customer, but who grows, questions their surroundings, and seems to truly care for K. This contradiction is where de Armas shines.
Joi shows a soul, although it is left unclear whether the film believes that the soul Joi shows is actually real. De Armas' ability to offer so much depth to an intangible character was widely acclaimed and shows that an actress can still bring complex feelings and performance, even within the spectacle of sci-fi narratives.
No Time To Die
Ana de Armas shines as Paloma, a Cuban CIA officer who helps James Bond in No Time to Die. Though her screen time is short, de Armas brings a lively combination of charm, competence, and unpredictability to the character and expands the "Bond girl" role.
Paloma is introduced as an agent with "three weeks' training," which suggests inexperience, yet she turns the apparent notion of amateurishness on its head. She enters the scene in a fitted evening gown, but that outfit momentarily disguises her knockout prowess in the fight with Bond. By skillfully toggling between Paloma's bubbly personability and fierce determination, de Armas has created a character that is both cute and intimidating.
Critics and audiences alike praised how de Armas was able to take scenes and inject energy into the narrative. In devising the role, director Cary Joji Fukunaga wanted to allow de Armas to showcase her comedic timing and action capability. Regardless, her performance was not only fun and charming, but it also stands out as a representation of a new, sophisticated approach to female characters in the James Bond universe.
The Gray Man
In The Gray Man, Ana de Armas plays Dani Miranda, a sharp, tireless CIA agent and ultimately the moral center of the film and its greatest surprise. Presented in the chaos of a covert mission, Dani is introduced as an operator who knows the rules- sharp suit, methodical, and dedicated to the agency- but then, when the CIA turns on itself and the mission quickly collapses, Dani is unwilling to be another pawn.
Rather than following orders, Dani teams up with Sierra Six based on moral conviction. Throughout her time with Six, Dani evolves from a cautious supervisor into a courageous ally who often leads them both through global manhunts and all-out combat with expertise. The actress infuses her character with a noticeable sense of both organization and grace while revealing mere glimpses of frailness, which makes the character all the more relatable and realistic. In the murky world of double-dealing and mercenaries, Dani Miranda stands as a bastion of rational thought and principled action that serves as proof that absolute integrity can exist even in the most chaotic of action films.
Blonde
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In one of the most captivating performances of her career, Ana de Armas in Blonde - as Marilyn Monroe - gives a haunting and transformative performance that transcends imitation and reaches the ragged, anguished truth of Marilyn Monroe's reality, Norma Jeane. In every breath that shakes and every vulnerable look that lingers, Ana renders the suffering of a woman continuing to carry the weight of a myth, while still remaining a fragile truth.
Through the film's dreamlike, often brutal story, Ana immerses herself in the moment's devastation while portraying Marilyn not as a radiant starlet possessing irresistible charm, but as a broken being longing to be lost in an endless need to perform. Her voice speaks softly and stammers, one that draws on innocent instincts burdened by the expectations of years of commodification. The culmination of Ana's version of Marilyn is intimate and so unsettling that it loses its brashness to expose the violence fame can unleash and the loneliness in the spotlight. Ana's performance is not one that merely glorifies Monroe, but one that humanizes her- her pain, her power, and her desire to be seen.
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