Ana de Armas Delivers Breakout Performance in ‘Blade Runner 2049’

The Cuban actress knew it was a 'game changer' as soon as she got the call.

October 6, 2017 5:00 am

The original Blade Runner is a cult classic. So when Ana de Armas, a Cuban actress who just arrived in Los Angeles a few years ago, got the call to star in the sequel, Blade Runner 2049, alongside Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, she knew it was a “game changer.”

The actress told Esquire that as soon as she heard, her phone was “blowing up.” She called people nonstop for five hours, she said, including her friends in Spain and her parents in Cuba.

The sequel is one of the most highly-anticipated movies of the year. De Armas was careful to not give too much away about the movie or her role as Joi, just saying that she is vital in Officer K’s (played by Ryan Gosling) life.

“She’s very important in K’s life. She’s his best friend, his lover, his cheerleader,” she said, according to Esquire. 

Ana de Armas
Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas in ‘Blade Runner 2049’ (Warner Bros.)

The actress did, however, talk about working with Gosling. She said that he is “probably the most humble person I’ve met in my life” and that the actor is very shy and very funny.

De Armas is a very successful actress in Spain, but she has always wanted to come to Hollywood. “I’ve never wanted to settle as long as I’ve thought there’s more,” she told Esquire. And though she started booking roles opposite famous men, like Miles Teller, Keanu Reeves and now Gosling, the star tried to stay away from roles where “women are just reacting or waiting for something to happen,” according to Esquire. 

Blade Runner 2049 is just the beginning for de Armas. She is starring in the action-thriller Three Seconds With Joel Kinnaman, Clive Owen, and Rosamund Pike.

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