-Our first guest tonight is a talented actress
you know from her work in "Knives Out," "No Time to Die,"
and "The Gray Man," she stars as Marilyn Monroe in "Blonde,"
which is in select theaters now and premieres globally
on Netflix September 28th.
Let's take a look.
-Don't abandon me.
-She's coming.
She's almost here.
-[Sniffles] Please come.
♪♪
[ Stops crying ]
♪♪
[ Laughing ]
[ Crowd chanting "Marilyn" ]
♪♪
Please welcome to the show Ana de Armas, everyone.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Thank you so much for being here.
-Thank you for having me.
-It is -- we were talking backstage. I love this film.
It is so -- it's an emotional roller coaster to watch.
-Yes. -I can only imagine
what it was like to have worked on it for months and months.
-Same. -Yeah. Okay, good.
-Very emotional, very immersive, but also a beautiful experience.
-A gorgeous film. -Thank you.
And it premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
I've never been. I've heard it's incredibly glamorous.
-It was my first time. -First time there.
And this is even cooler -- it's the first time your mom,
who I know is based in Cuba,
got to go to one of your premieres.
-First premiere in Venice.
So that was pretty overwhelming for her.
And I was just, you know, working a lot and doing press
and checking on her every once in a while,
"Are you okay? Are you okay?" And she would just start crying
every single time. And I was like,
"I am not going to ask you any more if you're okay."
Just -- We'll talk about it later.
-Was she crying because she wasn't okay, or --
[ Laughter ]
-She was more than okay. -Okay, good.
-Yeah. -It was, I would imagine
it was an incredibly glamorous night.
The film was beautifully received, as well.
-Yeah. -Is your mom someone who gives
you notes on performance ever?
-Not really. I mean, she's, you know --
I remember the time I brought "Knives Out" to my home in Cuba,
and I did, like, this kind of, like, screening
for my family and friends, and at the end of the movie,
she was just like, "Daniel was amazing.
And Jamie Lee Curtis was great. And this other guy was great."
And I'm like, "You know, I'm in the movie, too."
She was complimenting everyone else.
She's just happy I got a job, you know? Yeah.
-And you got -- She's like, "Everyone was great,
and I'm assuming you got paid, which good."
-Pretty much.
-You grew up in Cuba, some in Spain.
I imagine even at those locations, you were aware
of who Marilyn Monroe was. Yes?
-Oh, yeah. Kind of, yeah. We did have Marilyn's films
on TV in Cuba. And of course, in Spain,
I -- you know, after studying drama school,
I started watching more films.
So I was very -- I knew who Marilyn Monroe was
and what she meant, but I didn't know about Norma Jean,
who was that woman, you know, playing that character.
-We were talking backstage as well about the fact that,
I will admit, when I first heard you were playing the part,
I did not think that you looked like her.
You felt the same way. And yet on camera --
-Trust me, no one ever told me I look like Marilyn Monroe.
-Ever. -I heard you always described
yourself to people like that.
You would say, "Just so you know when you see me,
I look just like Marilyn Monroe."
-Yeah. Well, she used to be brunette, so...
-She did. -...that we have in common.
-But you -- obviously, a transformation like that
required, you know, some additional things
other than just an acting performance,
including you had your eyebrows bleached.
That sounds... -Painful.
-And? And what's your report back?
-Well, you know, I love my eyebrows.
You know, it's -- you know, women know
how important eyebrows are.
So they had to bleach them,
and not only that, like, shave the middle of my eyebrows
to make them more, you know, separate them like she had.
So, but my hair was brunette.
So I just didn't leave home for two months.
It was terrifying.
-Why didn't they wait until closer to the the movie?
Did they bleach them two months before,
or was it just after filming each day?
-Well, you need to do camera tests, and, you know --
-I don't understand how movies work.
-The movie was for nine weeks. Yeah.
[ Laughter ]
-Can they, like, edit and stuff?
This is -- You might not naturally make people
think of Marilyn Monroe, but you had someone in your life
who was a perfect match for someone in Marilyn's life.
-Yes, I do. -There's a very dramatic scene
with a dog. -Yes. Which is very --
When I watch it, I don't know how to feel because of course,
it's a very serious, important scene in the film.
And then at the same time, I'm just looking at him
and I'm melting. -This the dog that --
this is Marilyn's dog right here.
That's a photo of Marilyn's dog.
-Yeah. -This is the dog in the film,
and that's actually your real-life dog.
-That's Elvis. That's my dog. Yeah.
-So when did it occur to everyone
that you actually had the perfect dog for the part?
Did Elvis, like, nose his headshot over one day?
-[ Laughs ]
Well, that's the dog -- Sinatra gave her that dog.
-Okay. -And the dog's name is Mafia.
-Okay. -Obviously.
And we found this out, and Andrew,
as the great visionary that he is --
he saw I look like Marilyn Monroe.
Obviously, he saw that Elvis was perfect for Mafia,
and he was the one -- he had the idea, like,
we need Elvis in the movie.
-And now -- so again, you're doing -- I would not.
We had my dog here one time
and I was stressed out the whole day
because -- well, I should note my dog is dumb as rocks.
And were you -- did it bring you any stress to have people --
an entire crew of people,
you know, basically relying on Elvis?
Well -- Oh, well, he was only in two scenes --
this one that didn't make the cut.
-Oh, God. Did you have to break it to him?
[ Laughter ]
-And then the other one that's the most important one.
But he's very well behaved. -Yeah.
-He's 13, so he's been on sets with me.
-And he seems to take to stardom.
-Clearly, he's very, very spoiled.
My makeup artist, Tina, was making sure he was fresh
and like...
-And he wants to do a spin off, is that right?
He wants his... -Yeah, no chance.
-[Laughing] No chance. -No chance.
What's funny about this is that that chair was
another actor's chair that was doing a scene,
and when he finished, he came back,
his backpack was on the floor, and he was just like...
[ Laughter ]
Okay, I get it.
-Yeah, because based on that chair --
Well, now I guess that's what --
Did Elvis get there up on his own?
Because I feel like... -No,
-Yeah, he needed help. -Yeah.
-So if I was the actor, I wouldn't be like "Bad dog."
I'd be like "Bad costars." -Yes. [ Laughs ]
-One of the things I enjoyed the most -- and again,
you're wonderful in this film -- we are so used to seeing you
in very fast-paced films like "Gray Man"
or "No Time to Die," you know even "Knives Out,"
to some degree. This is such a --
again, it's fascinating to watch her entire life.
-It's faced-paced in a different way.
-Yes, that's very right, but it does --
I mean, again, Andrew Dominik, the director,
I think he has such an eye for taking his time
and letting you really feel the character.
Did it feel like a more patient performance
while you were doing it or --
because it feels very lived in, I guess is what I'm saying?
You don't seem to be in a rush in a really nice way.
-Oh, well, that's not what happened.
-Okay. -I was actually pretty rushed.
We didn't have money. We didn't have time to do --
to do the movie. -Well, they had to use your dog.
That's a dead giveaway. -So, yeah.
-They're just walking around set,
being like, "Anyone got a dog that looks like this?"
[ Laughter ]
-Pretty much. -That is fascinating to me
to hear that you've got -- it is such a beautiful film.
And you know, so, credit to everyone involved
because you would never look at it and say,
"Oh, they were definitely cutting corners here."
It's gorgeous. -Yeah. Thank you.
So, yeah, Andrew is a fantastic director.
He's very thoughtful and very respectful,
and he was very passionate about this story,
and he, you know -- he took it very seriously.
He's very, you know, detailed and perfectionist,
and so am I, so... -It was a perfect match.
And it's a great film, and thank you so much for being here.
So lovely to meet you in person. -Thank you so much.
You guys, that's Ana de Armas.
"Blonde" is in select theaters now and premieres globally
on Netflix September 28th.
We'll be right back with Reba McEntire.