While having received rave reviews for her performance, Ana de Armas has revealed she almost turned down starring in Knives Out. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the murder mystery comedy centered on an eccentric private detective who is hired to investigate the death of wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey, with his dysfunctional family all viewed as suspects. Daniel Craig led the ensemble cast of Knives Out alongside de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Noah Segan and Christopher Plummer.
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De Armas starred in Knives Out as Marta Cabrera, Harlan's nurse who proves to be the true protagonist of the film as it's revealed she was there when he died, initially believing she had mixed up his medications and given him a lethal dose of morphine that would have killed him, had he not slit his throat. Much of the film centered on Marta as she tried to keep her apparent involvement in Harlan's death a secret from Craig's Benoit Blanc, all the while he takes her in as his confidante in his investigation, though Marta would ultimately be proven innocent as Chris Evans' Ransom was behind the medicine switch-up and the subsequent events. De Armas scored widespread critical acclaim for her turn as Marta in Knives Out, earning a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, though this nearly didn't come to be.
While speaking with Another Magazine for her Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde, Ana de Armas looked back on her recent rise to stardom. In looking specifically at Rian Johnson's acclaimed murder mystery, the actor revealed she nearly turned down Knives Out after hearing the initial pitch for her character and taking issue with one element. See what de Armas explained below:
[The audition tape instructions said] ‘Latina, caretaker’. I was like, I do not have the energy, what is this? I said, you either tell me why this is worth it or I can’t. I passed on it twice because of that description. In the end, they sent me the whole script and I thought, oh s–t! Right away I did an audition.
Though having made a name for herself in Cuba and Spain, Knives Out is widely considered to be one of de Armas' biggest claims to fame in English-language movies alongside her role as Joi in Blade Runner 2049. Given the potentially stereotypical nature of her role on paper in the film, it's understandable de Armas would initially be hesitant to join Knives Out, not wanting to take part in a role seemingly a step back from her subversive work in Denis Villeneuve's acclaimed sci-fi sequel. Luckily for both audiences and de Armas herself, she heard out Rian Johnson's pitch, which itself proved subversive as Marta's nationality was vital to her character arc and to exposing the true biases of the Thrombey family.
While de Armas may not have brought home the Golden Globe for her performance, her taking the Knives Out role ultimately proved in her favor. The years since have seen de Armas reunite with Craig for his James Bond swan song No Time to Die, which saw many audiences call out for a spinoff centered on her character, landing the lead role in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina and starring in Netflix's Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde, which itself has received mixed reviews, but for which she scored acclaim and sparked Oscars buzz. Audiences can catch up with her latest praised performance with Blonde streaming on Netflix now.