Ana de Armas' Accent as Marilyn Monroe Has Fans Confused About Her Performance

While she's still a relatively new performer to many Americans, Ana de Armas has quickly become a familiar face on the big screen. As the trailer for Andrew Dominik's new film Blonde suggests, Ana is taking on one of her biggest roles yet. According to the official plot synopsis, the film works to “boldly reimagine the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe."

Now that the official trailer for Blonde has hit the internet, and it features Ana as Marilyn Monroe talking to Bobby Cannavale's Joe DiMaggio as she explains how she got her start in movies. “I guess I was discovered," Marilyn says in the scene. "I know you’re supposed to get used to it, but I just can’t. I’ve played Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe – I can’t face doing another scene with Marilyn Monroe.

“Marilyn doesn’t exist," she continues. "When I come out of my dressing room, I’m Norma Jean. I’m still her when the camera’s rolling. Marilyn Monroe only exists on the screen.”

Although Ana is clearly putting on an affect to play Monroe, it's also clear that she hasn't completely covered up her Latina accent, which has been quite distinctive in her career to date.

“I cannot figure out in that trailer for BLONDE if they’re just embracing de Armas’ Cuban accent or if they’re trying to get her to do an American accent (and failing),” one user wrote, clearly confused by the sound of Ana's voice in the trailer.

In an interview with The Times, Ana explained that while she tried to cover up her accent, she wasn't 100% successful.

"I tried! It only took me nine months of dialect coaching and practice, and some ADR sessions," she explained. "It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried.”

The trailer's release only left some more confused about whether the film was planning to use Ana's natural accent or not.

While the accent may be a problem for some people, for others, the choice to cast Ana in spite of her accent may have been part of the point.

“Ana de Armas coming from Cuba knowing zero English in 2016 would be insanely proud of Ana de Armas playing Marilyn Monroe with accent and all in 2022,” another added.

“Everyone seems fixated on Ana de Armas’ accent in BLONDE but I think that only makes the film more interesting; it emphasizes the inherent artifice in biopics (and in acting overall), which imo is appropriate in a work seemingly dedicated to exploring artifice versus reality," one user wrote.

Clearly, the internet is a bit divided over whether casting the actress in the role was a good idea or not. It's hard to make any definitive claims based on a trailer anyway, so we'll have to wait until Blonde hits Netflix to know for sure.