When Jamie Lee Curtis first saw her Knives Out co-star Ana de Armas, she “formed the presumption that she was an inexperienced, naïve young woman,” Jamie Lee Curtis recalled.
What Jamie Lee Curtis believed about Ana de Armas when they first met has caused her “real embarrassment,” she says.
Jamie Lee Curtis recalls her initial thoughts towards Ana de Armas.
The two co-starred in Knives Out, a 2019 ensemble movie that served as de Armas’ major break-out role and opened the door for roles in No Time to Die, The Gray Man, and the upcoming Blonde as Marilyn Monroe. Curtis claimed in a recent ELLE cover article about de Armas that she initially mistook the 34-year-old Cuban-born co-star for a “unsophisticated young woman.”
“I assumed that she had just arrived since she had traveled from Cuba, and I say this with genuine embarrassment. I assumed she was a young woman with no experience and no sophistication “Informed ELLE, Curtis. I asked, “Oh, what are your dreams?” on the first day.
But on the set, de Armas rapidly won Curtis over.
Regarding de Armas’ personality, she added, “She’s not as posh as the advertising might lead you to believe. She leans in, showing interest; conversing with her is somewhat reciprocal. She has a lot of questions since she is curious.”
In the ELLE interview, De Armas discusses Cuba and diversity in Hollywood. At the age of 26, she relocated to Los Angeles after acting in a few Cuban films and landing television roles in Spain.
She stated: “I occasionally feel like I don’t belong in the Cuban artistic community, and then I go to Spain and I feel like I don’t belong in the community there, especially since I worked on more TV shows than movies there. Then I arrive here and feel like I’m still not there. You realize? Am I a part of the neighborhood? I don’t really know anyone.”
When de Armas was included to the publication’s Time100 Next list in 2021, Curtis wrote a laudatory ode to the actress for Time back in February of that year.
“On the first day of Knives Out filming, I got to know Ana de Armas. In that first scene, as her character lamented the loss of her friend and employer, I gazed into her stunning green eyes, which were overflowing with tears of sorrow. Who is this, I remember wondering at that precise moment? Her brilliance was obvious, “Curtis composed.
“I wanted to do everything I could to support this young Cuban actress on her trip right away, but I soon understood she didn’t need it. We will all be able to look back on the time we first saw her and watch in awe and excitement as she soars to the highest levels our industry has to offer, supported by the breadth of her skill and soul, Curtis continued.”
Chris Evans, another Knives Out co-star, spoke to ELLE about his collaboration with de Armas. The Gray Man, a Netflix original, and the upcoming Ghosted were later produced by the team.