BAFTA nominee Ana De Armas says leaning into her own insecurities helped her understand Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe for her role in the biopic Blonde.
The 34-year-old plays the American star in the Netflix film which chronicles Marilyn’s life from Norma Jeane Mortenson to international star.
While Marilyn was one of the most famous people in the world when she lived from 1926 until 1962, Ana has seen her own life thrown into the spotlight in recent years.
But she says being under the international microscope helped her find an affinity for the Hollywood icon which she channeled while playing the role.
She told the Backstage podcast: “Feeling nervous, feeling insecure, feeling at times I was not as good as I wanted to, feeling judged, all of those things that I was feeling worked, so I used them in the same way.
“I don’t think Norma ever felt that she could live up to Marilyn, she didn’t even understand the way people could see Marilyn.
“In a way those were the things that were happening to me. I felt that is exactly like she felt her entire life, and I’ve been through that.”
Ana has been nominated in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category for her performance alongside acting titans Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Emma Thompson, and Michelle Yeoh.
Fellow lesser known star Danielle Deadwyler is also nominated in the same category - with the winner set to be unveiled in a glitzy ceremony in London on Sunday night.
Ana was thrust into the spotlight during the years of lockdown when she was in a high-profile romance with actor Ben Affleck.
The pair drew attention with persistent public displays of affection as their romance burned bright from March 2020 to January 2021.
However, the relationship burned out and Ben moved on to reignite his romance with former fiancée Jennifer Lopez - who he finally wed in July last year.
Aside from drawing attention for her role in Blonde, Ana has also starred in murder-mystery film Knives Out alongside Bond actor Daniel Craig.
And she was indeed even a Bond girl in the 2021 film no Time to Die when she played a character named Paloma - a role for which she won praise and demand from fans for a spin-off.
However, Ana previously told The Sun: "There's no need for a female Bond. There shouldn't be any need to steal someone else's character, you know, to take over. This is a novel, and it leads into this James Bond world and this fantasy of that universe where he's at."
She added: "What I would like is that the female roles in the Bond films, even though Bond will continue to be a man, are brought to life in a different way.
"That they're given a more substantial part and recognition. That's what I think is more interesting than flipping things."
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