Ana de Armas had zero difficulty finding streams of research to play Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. But learning what drove Norma Jean, the delicate and insecure woman behind the public persona, was an entirely different challenge. “It was important to find the emotional truth in this character,” she said Saturday at Deadline’s The Contenders Film: Los Angeles. “One of the biggest themes in this movie is the private and public self.
Norma Jean was completely unseen. I wanted to capture the essence of that woman, to find the human underneath. It was a long process studying her and her films, to understand what she was feeling at all times, always thinking that Norma for the most part never thought she could live up to Marilyn.
What people thought of her was not at all what she felt like.” RELATED: The Contenders Film: Los Angeles – Deadline’s Full Coverage The movie is based on Joyce Carol Oates’ eponymous 2000 novel, which blends fact and fiction to reimagine the life of Marilyn/Norma Jean.
The movie also stars Adrien Brody, who joined de Armas onstage Saturday and spoke of being in awe of his co-star’s standout performance. “The film really represents unresolved childhood trauma.
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