Over the past few years, no actress has shot up to fame with as much style and talent asAna de Armas. This Cuban actress arrived in Hollywood in 2015 by way of Spain and has seduced us all with her strength, charisma, and gift for telling important and entertaining stories. It’s all too clear that in the next few years, she won’t just be one star out of many, but an extremely bankable and critically acclaimed one.
Having recently been cast in theJohn WickspinoffBallerinaand on the brink of premiering the much-awaitedMarilyn Monroebiopic,Blonde, her future seems extremely bright. While we wait for those mega-hit films to come out, check out a few of her best performances that span different continents but remain consistent in their shows of strength and seduction.
Related:‘Blonde’: The Long, Long History of Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe Biopic
Hands of Stone (2016)
If you grew up in Panama, there would be no way to avoid hearing about the famous boxerRoberto Duran. In an era of political corruption and emasculation in the face of American occupation, Duran’s “hands of stone” showed the world that Panama was not merely a rest stop for cargo ships, but a nation with extraordinary people. In the Duran biopic,Hands of Stone, de Armas plays Duran’s wife oppositeEdgar Ramirez. Ramirez had already made a name for himself in the internationally acclaimed miniseriesCarlos, so to be able to fight toe to toe with him in another ferocious performance, speaks volumes about her talent. De Armas shows us that Felicidad Duran was much more than a supportive wife. She was a politically minded, smart, and strong woman and the only person that could handle this temperamental boxer.
Knock Knock (2015)
In her first English-speaking role, Ana de Armas delivers an endlessly entertaining and equally strange performance.Knock Knockcenters around a good-natured husband and father, Evan (Keanu Reeves), who is home alone one evening when two beautiful and stranded young women come knocking at his door. After a swift seduction, this male fantasy turns into a nightmare when the women refuse to leave and instead decide to make him pay for his infidelity. De Armas plays one of the two young women and certainly delivers a brave and outlandish performance in this camp horror flick. For those who love outrageous tales with a strangely moralistic lens, this is the movie for you!
Knives Out (2019)
Ana de Armas earned her first Golden Globe nomination for this incredible whodunit. DirectorRian Johnsonweaves a tale of murder with comic delight as well as political urgency.Knives Outrevolves around the untimely death of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), the famous mystery novelist and patriarch of a large and unlikable wealthy family, and the web of deceit that his strange death leaves behind. His offspring are racist, elitist, and generally insufferable. De Armas as the caring nurse, Marta, brings much-needed heart and understanding to this criminal affair. Through her kindness and resilience, she represents the plight of the many Latinx workers who are forced to stay quiet in the face of ignorant employers. Without de Armas, this fiendish story would be a decent puzzle, but nothing more. With her, the film gains perspective and personality!
Related:Chris Evans and Ana de Armas on ‘Knives Out’ and the Surprisingly Funny Script
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Though de Armas had acted in films likeWar Dogsby this time,Blade Runner 2049launched her into superstardom. Directed byDenis Villeneuve, this innovative sequel to the 1982 sci-fi classicBlade Runnerfollows K (Ryan Gosling), a Nexus-9 replicant “blade runner” who uncovers a secret that threatens to destabilize society and the course of civilization. De Armas plays Joi, K’s holographic AI girlfriend, in a performance that requires a lot of range. Joi represents technology’s coming takeover as well as the growing objectification of women in the media, so she is constantly changing to fit whatever K wants. De Armas goes from sexpot to housewife from moment to moment. Finding humanity in a robot built for the male fantasy is hard to do, but somehow de Armas pulls it off in this fantastic sci-fi flick!
No Time to Die (2021)
Many believe that the biggest shoes to fill in the acting world are that of James Bond as there have been so many actors in the role over the years and they are all legendary. That said, it would be just as apt to say that it is harder to fill the role of aBond girlas there have been many more and when you accept it, you are in danger of becoming a forgettable second banana. De Armas proved she could be more than just a sexy sidekick and even had critics begging for more screen time inNo Time To Die. In this most recent Bond flick, de Armas plays Paloma, a CIA agent assisting Bond. Appearing opposite Daniel Craigyet again, she steals the show with her bubbly personality and skills with a gun.
Wasp Network (2019)
There hasn’t been a tale of political intrigue, violence, and the price of revolution quite likeWasp Network. This film by internationally acclaimed French auteurOlivier Assayastells the true story of “the Cuban Five”, a group of Cuban spies who infiltrated anti-Castro terrorist groups in Miami and were subsequently jailed by the US government. De Armas plays Ana Margarita, a Miami Cuban who marries the spy Juan Pablo Roque (Wagner Moura) and slowly begins to suspect him. De Armas holds her own in a cast that includes the likes of Moura, Edgar Ramirez, andPenélope Cruz, and shows the more unheroic side of being a spy for your country. While Roque fights for his revolution, he lies to and demeans Ana Margarita in an exhilarating tale of duty and deception.
Sergio (2020)
Many may not know the nameSergio Vieira de Mello, but as a high-ranking UN diplomat, he was on the brink of changing the world until his untimely death in Iraq in 2003.Sergiostarts when the UN headquarters in Iraq is bombed and Sergio (Wagner Moura) awaits help. The film flashes through his life and in particular his meeting Carolina Larriera (Ana de Armas), a UN economic consultant and his future girlfriend. Opposite Moura yet again, de Armas feeds on their chemistry to create an intimate portrait of such a larger-than-life man. She also makes Larriera more than just the girlfriend. De Armas portrays her as a smart and capable UN official who can teach Sergio a thing or two and fight her own battles.
