There’s a particular type of Hollywood career trajectory that goes like this: arrive from a foreign country, play the love interest in a few blockbusters, get labeled as “exotic,” and spend the next decade trying to convince casting directors you can do more than look pretty while the male lead saves the world. Ana de Armas did not get that memo. Instead, she got a dog, learned how to throw herself out of moving vehicles, and decided that the best way to answer questions about her career was to do it herself.
Ahead of her starring role in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, de Armas sat down for a conversation with fans that revealed exactly why she’s become one of the most interesting actors working today. She introduced herself as an “actor, dog lover, and occasional stuntwoman,” which is the kind of humble-brag that only works if you’ve actually spent months training to fight like a ballerina assassin. It turns out she did.
The Cuban-Spanish actress has been quietly building a resume that defies easy categorization. She broke through in Knives Out as the wide-eyed nurse Marta Cabrera, holding her own against a murderers’ row of veteran actors and proving she could carry the emotional weight of a whodunit. Then she disappeared entirely into Marilyn Monroe for Blonde, a performance so physically and emotionally committed that audiences forgot they were watching an actress and not a séance. Then she became a Bond girl in No Time to Die, but the kind who actually contributes to the plot and gets to shoot people rather than just looking concerned while Daniel Craig broods.
But Ballerina represents something different—a leading role in an action franchise that doesn’t require her to stand behind a man while he punches things. De Armas plays Eve Macarro, a ballerina-turned-assassin who operates within the same underworld as Keanu Reeves’ John Wick. The role demanded months of weapons training, dance training, and what she describes as learning to trust her body in ways that previous roles never required.
What emerged from her conversation with fans was a portrait of an actor who takes her work seriously but refuses to take herself seriously. She talked about her dogs with the enthusiasm of someone who genuinely prefers their company to most humans. She discussed her early roles in Spanish-language cinema with gratitude rather than embarrassment, acknowledging the grind of building a career from scratch in an industry that rarely rewards patience.
The physical transformation for Ballerina wasn’t just about looking capable with a gun. De Armas had to learn to move like a dancer who kills, which is an entirely different physical vocabulary from standard action-hero posing. It requires grace and brutality in equal measure, the ability to pirouette into a throat punch. She trained with the same stunt team that has made the John Wick franchise the gold standard for practical action, and she apparently kept up with veterans who have been doing this for decades.
What makes de Armas compelling as a star is her willingness to be vulnerable in public. She doesn’t project the armor of untouchability that many actors cultivate. She admits to being nervous, to doubting herself, to missing her dogs while on location. This relatability translates to her performances—there’s always a human heartbeat beneath the glamour, even when she’s playing icons like Marilyn Monroe or superspies like Paloma.
Ballerina hits theaters June 6, positioning de Armas as the new face of one of Hollywood’s most reliable action franchises. If the early footage is any indication, she’s ready. The kicks are sharp, the gun-fu is precise, and the emotional beats land with the same impact as the physical ones. John Wick created a world; de Armas is about to prove she can carry it forward.
The “occasional stuntwoman” credit might need updating after this one.
See the rise of a new action icon—catch From the World of John Wick: Ballerina in theaters June 6 and witness Ana de Armas redefine what a leading lady looks like in modern cinema.
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