Ana de Armas Addresses Being A Cuban Woman Playing Marilyn Monroe

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Ana de Armas is about to enter full-blown A-lister territory, as she’s not only starring in a splashy $200 million Netflix action movie, The Gray Man, alongside Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling, but later this summer, she’ll portray the iconic Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s Blonde. She’s also set to ramp up production on her John Wick spin-off movie Ballerina, too.

Given the legendary woman she’s playing and the talent involved with making the film — Dominik has directed films such as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Killimg Them Softly — de Armas will likely contend for an Oscar as the Academy *loves* when actors portray real people.

Ana de Armas addresses the fact that she’s a Cuban woman playing Marilyn Monroe

During a recent interview with Elle Magazine, 34-year-old de Armas discussed the fact that she’s a Cuban woman bringing an American icon to life, saying that she’s glad she’s not just playing Cuban stereotypes.

“I do want to play Latina. But I don’t want to put a basket of fruit on my head every single time.” “So that’s my hope, that I can show that we can do anything if we’re given the time to prepare, and if we’re given just the chance, just the chance,” she added. “You can do any film — Blonde — you can do anything.” [via Elle]

In addition to de Armas as Norma Jean Baker, Blonde — which hits Netflix on Friday, September 23 — stars Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, and Julianne Nicholson. The film is directed by Andrew Dominik, who has also helmed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly, and a few episodes of Netflix’s hit series Mindhunter.