Ana de Armas received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the Netflix film “Blonde,” which was released in late September.

Despite mixed reviews for the film, de Armas’ performance has received praise.

In an interview with the LA Times, de Armas spoke about the unexpected opportunity to play Monroe, saying “On paper I was not supposed to be playing Marilyn Monroe. I’m a Cuban actress.

“In what world could I have imagined that this was going to happen? Never. The fact that I got this opportunity was just something out of the ordinary.”

De Armas was determined to portray the humanity of Monroe rather than just her fame and superstardom, and this aspect of her performance reportedly blew the casting crew away during the audition process.

The actress also wanted to show a different side of Monroe, one that was not seen during her moments of fame.

In an interview with Today, de Armas said “I feel like the movie shows the other side of that and the price that you pay for that.”

“People wanted Marilyn, they wanted that product. She had to keep delivering that because the opposite was nothing. She was nothing else. She was not considered anything else.”

The emotional weight of the role stayed with de Armas even after filming.

She described the experience as “an emotional one,” saying “Don’t get me wrong, I had so much fun. I wasn’t by any means in character for nine weeks, not between takes, not in my lunch break. I was Ana. But emotionally? The weight of it stayed with me for sure.”

“I don’t want it to seem like I’m saying, ‘Marilyn and I were connected’—not at all.

“But I was thinking of her so much, some days I would go home and have dinner and as I was washing the dishes I would just start sobbing, crying and crying, because I had this terrible feeling—I knew I couldn’t fix it.”

The transformation into Monroe was an emotional one for the entire production team as well.

De Armas recalled “Everyone in the room started crying, I can tell you that…It was very emotional. It felt like she was back.”

Despite the difficulty of unplugging from the role, de Armas’ performance as Monroe was praised as the right choice for the part.

In an interview with Today, she said “I was thinking of her so much, some days I would go home and have dinner and as I was washing the dishes I would just start sobbing, crying and crying, because I had this terrible feeling—I knew I couldn’t fix it.”