Ana de Armas said that while filming scenes for Netflix's upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde, she almost felt as though Monroe was watching them with approval.
Blonde is currently circulating film festivals ahead of its Netflix premiere in late September. Most recently, at Venice International Film Festival, reporters were able to catch up with the cast and crew of the Monroe biopic, where they talked about feeling the presence of the late and beloved Hollywood icon.
In a statement to the Lido press corps, director Andrew Dominik said that while making Blonde, “We were kind of chasing her ghost around... Her dust is everywhere in Los Angeles." De Armas, who plays Monroe, also said, “I truly believe that she was very close to us, she was with us… She was all I thought about, she was all I dreamed about, she was all I could talk about. She was with me and it was beautiful. I think she was happy." De Armas also noted that she had a strong sensation that Monroe was approving of their work while they filmed in locations such as her house.
De Armas went on to say that getting into Monroe's character was about “understanding, empathizing and connecting with her pain and her trauma… I knew I had to let myself open and go to places that I knew were going to be uncomfortable, dark and vulnerable. That’s where I found the connection with this person.” Of course, playing such an emotional role wasn't easy, which de Armas also discussed. “I felt that I was living that, I felt that heaviness and that weight on my shoulders and that sadness that was hard to shake off, but I don’t think I wanted to either. I didn’t want to protect myself from that.”
Based on Blonde trailers and reviews, the film is expected to focus on the darker side of Monroe's life, including her struggles with depression, toxic relationships, and drug abuse, all of which left her in a state of deep isolation from those who expected her to be like the stereotypically bubbly and happy characters she portrayed on screen. The disconnect between Monroe's public persona and her private life is subtly captured by the film's title, Blonde.
In public, she was seen as the quintessential blonde of her day, though in reality, she was brunette. Monroe had dyed her hair blonde in her late teenage years because brunettes were not seen as attractive enough and she had struggled to find work as a model. Blonde will present the private side of the star that she was never able to show to the world.
Blonde releases on Netflix on September 28, 2022.
Source: Deadline