The Cuban Ana de Armas has already attracted attention in many supporting roles as the woman who can make films shine. Now she fascinates in her first leading role as Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. A star has become a big star that deserves an Oscar.
She once told me how it was in Cuba. She, 14 years old, first year at drama school, long walk to school, hitchhiked every morning. But not with a thumbs up on the street, but knocked on the car window at the red traffic light and asked “please, can you take me a little bit?” It always worked, says Ana De Armas today, and when she looks at you with her really grass-green eyes, you can imagine that there were people, probably mostly men, who would have driven halfway around the world with her, even though she was didn’t want to go there.