Ana de Armas on 'Blonde': 'I had to let Marilyn get close, no matter how painful it hurts'

Ms. de Armas, there is the Marilyn Monroe from the screenplay for your new film “Blonde” and from the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, then of course the real person and finally the image that everyone has in their heads.

From all these versions, how did you create your own Marilyn?

Of course, the most important thing to me was the script Marilyn, the one that our director/writer Andrew Dominick had in mind.

But I think the one I ended up playing actually ended up being a combination of everything you just listed.

Were you hesitant to accept this role?

I didn't hesitate; on the contrary, I fought hard to get it.

That's not to say the challenge didn't make me incredibly nervous.

Also because it took a long time until the project was actually done.

It took a lot of time before we finally got the green light and the budget together, and even after that the funding collapsed again and it looked like we wouldn't be able to make the film after all.

I was really desperate and terribly sad.

Because I knew this role was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Even if it scared the shit out of me given the importance Marilyn holds for so many people as a pop culture icon.

How do you explain the fact that Marilyn Monroe fascinates so many people to this day?

On the one hand, it is of course this mixture of trauma and glamor that makes up her biography.

That doesn't leave anyone cold.

But on the other hand, in my opinion, the fascination lies not least in the fact that our picture of her never seems to be complete down to the last detail.

No matter how much you know about her life and how well you know her films - there is always something missing.

Nobody seems to have ever understood her completely, maybe not even herself. That's why speculation and dramatic conjectures about her relationships or her death continue to this day.

Some things about Marilyn will always remain a mystery, which is why she is still with us to this day.

"Blonde" takes a rather aggressive approach to the suffering and pain of Monroe's life, both in childhood and later.

How can you embody that as an actress and still protect yourself from it?

You can't do that.

I knew from the start that this role would require me to make myself very vulnerable.

I knew Marilyn's story would get to my heart and hurt me.

That's how it was then: during the nine-week shoot and actually even before that, I felt an enormous sadness and heaviness.

But I had no other choice.

I had to let her get close enough to do her justice no matter how painful it was.

And I probably just endured it because I knew I had a director by my side who would protect Marilyn and me alike.

Did you at least get rid of that sadness quickly after the shoot?

It wasn't easy.

But the therapy that helped me with that was my next role.

We finished Blonde on a Friday and the following Monday I was in front of the camera as Paloma in the Bond film No Time to Die.

Wow, you switched right away?

If I could have chosen, I would have liked to have had more time.

Just to let everything sink in and say goodbye to this role and all these experiences that I will never have again.

But as an actress you have no control over your shooting schedules.

And as I said: maybe it was actually quite helpful in the end.

They had to act out countless very famous scenes from Monroe for the film.

Which was the most difficult?

Phew, they were all a real challenge and great fun in their own way.

And of course somehow surreal.

The "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" sequence from "Blonde Prefers" was a very special thing, of course.

But in the end it was comparatively uncomplicated because it was mainly about the choreography and singing.

However, the scene from the filming of The Seven Year Itch, where we show how the legendary moment with her white dress over the subway shaft came about, was particularly complicated because it was about a dialogue, it gave extras and also panned behind the camera, so something that was not to be seen in the original.

But you know what, the man who was in charge of blowing up my dress was the grandson of the man who did that to Marilyn at the time.

Isn't that fantastic?

With all this, "Blond" also tells of the abysses of show business and the pitfalls of fame.

How do you deal with being famous after Knives Out, Bond and now this movie?

That was never my plan and I didn't really expect to be in such a position.

That's why I go one step at a time and take things as they come.

Of course I'm happy, because the success shows me that I've done a good job.

But I also know that you have to be careful with it, even today.

Our film shows very clearly that the public image and the private person are usually not congruent, and I try to protect the latter as best I can.

And last but not least, dealing with Marilyn made me realize how important it is to set boundaries and not just give, give and give.

I've been paying attention to that ever since!