Jamie Lee Curtis Assumed Ana de Armas Was ‘Inexperienced’ and ‘Unsophisticated’ When They Met on ‘Knives Out’
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By the time Ana de Armas showed up on set for the first day of filming on Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out,” she already had films such as “Blade Runner 2049,” “War Dogs” and “Knock Knock” under her belt. The actor’s “Knives Out” co-star Jamie Lee Curtis apparently didn’t see any of those. Curtis told Elle magazine as part of de Armas’ new cover story that she wrongfully assumed de Armas had just arrived from Cuba and was new in Hollywood when the two met on the “Knives Out” set.
“I assumed—and I say this with real embarrassment—because she had come from Cuba, that she had just arrived,” Curtis said. “I made an assumption that she was an inexperienced, unsophisticated young woman. That first day, I was like, ‘Oh, what are your dreams?’”
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As Elle’s cover story reads: “[Curtis] asked because she was so impressed with de Armas that she wanted to introduce her to Steven Spielberg to play Maria in ‘West Side Story,’ or to Curtis’s godchildren Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal. She was surprised [de Armas] already knew Jake. De Armas is also close with Keanu Reeves, her costar in her first English-language film, Eli Roth’s ‘Knock Knock.'”
Curtis added of de Armas, “She is not as fancy as maybe the advertisements would have you believe. She leans in, interested; talking to her is kind of give-and-take. She’s curious and asks a lot of questions.”
Considering Curtis’ father, Tony Curtis, once acted with Marilyn Monroe, de Armas couldn’t pass up the opportunity long after “Knives Out” wrapped to show Curtis photos of herself transformed into Marilyn for the upcoming drama “Blonde.”
“She showed me a picture of her as Marilyn,” Curtis said. “My father was in ‘Some Like It Hot,’ and I have a lot of photos of my father and Marilyn. It was a couple of still pictures and one video of her moving through space with no audio. But it was so shocking because she was Marilyn.”
Next up for de Armas is the Netflix action tentpole “The Gray Man,” streaming July 22, followed by “Blonde” on September 23.
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