Ana de Armas is one of Hollywood's biggest rising stars, and 2022 is already debunked typecasting concerns surrounding the actress. Born in Cuba, Armas started her acting career by appearing in various Spanish language movies and TV series, including a leading role in El Internado (The Intern) from 2007 to 2010. Armas transitioned to English-speaking roles in the mid-2010s, holding supporting roles in big-budget productions, including playing Iz in War Dogs and Joi in Blade Runner 2049.
Knives Out subsequently further enhanced Ana de Armas' reputation as her leading performance in the popular 2019 murder mystery earned several award nominations, including one from the Golden Globes. Since then, the projects that Armas has been involved in have primarily been action films. De Armas made a small but memorable appearance in No Time To Die, she co-stars in Netflix's action thriller The Gray Man, and will play the leading role in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina. The frequency of her recent action movies has certainly sparked concern from some quarters that Ana de Armas will be typecast in the future if she builds a reputation of only being able to perform as a certain style of character. Many actors have felt the consequences of being typecast, like Harry Potter's Tom Felton, which has restricted the breadth of roles they have been able to take on.
However, Ana de Armas' past roles and the other upcoming movies she is involved in should be enough to settle the debate on whether or not she can excel in more than just action films. Before her flurry of action movies, Armas' filmography spanned multiple genres, including drama, romantic comedies, and sci-fi. Now, in 2022, Ana de Armas has already starred in Deep Water, a psychological thriller, and is set to appear as Marilyn Monroe in the fictionalized drama Blonde, which could be a career-defining role for the rising star.
Blonde Could Be Ana De Armas' Best Movie Yet
There is already some controversy surrounding Blonde with its NC-17 rating, a first for a Netflix film, but the movie's trailer teases a star-making performance from Ana de Armas. The actor bears a striking resemblance to Monroe and expertly captures the troubled icon's personality in the one-minute trailer, and while it only gives a glimpse of her performance, it should already be enough to put to bed concerns that she isn't capable of acting outside of action movies. Adding to that, Joyce Carol Oates, the author of the book Blonde is based on, praised the movie at an early screening of the film and, in particular, celebrated de Armas' performance.
As well as helping her avoid being pigeonholed into certain roles, Blonde could also earn Ana de Armas a slew of nominations and awards from the major film associations, as portrayals of celebrities typically do well during award season. At the 94th Academy Awards in 2022, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Stewart, and Nicole Kidman were three of the five nominees for Best Actress, and all played historical figures in their respective movies. That bodes well for Ana de Armas, as she could be more selective with her future projects should she secure global acclaim for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, which will further allow her to avoid being typecast as purely an action star.