MAY 2017 GQ.CO.ZA 39PHOTOGRAPH BY THOMAS WHITESIDE
MOVIESMEET ANA
FROM
HAVANA
The Cuban sidekick in the
Blade RunnersequelT
wo years ago, Ana
de Armas could
barely speak
English. Which is
a hurdle when you’re trying
to become a movie star in
the US. The 28-year-old
Cuban remembers her fi rst
meetings with LA agents:
‘I was just nodding like,
“I don’t know what you’re
saying.” Now I speak
English,’ she says.
Of course, since she’s
mastered the language,
she’s hardly been in the US.
First, she saw Robert De
Niro and Usher share a
Panamanian dance fl oor
during fi lming of boxing fl ick
Hands of Stone; then she hit
Jordan with Jonah Hill and
Miles Teller for the bro-y
gunrunner comedy War
Dogs. Recently she’s been
in Budapest with hunks
present and past (Ryan
Gosling and Harrison Ford)
for the Blade Runner sequel.
If you’re noticing a theme,
yes, her fi lms have largely
been dude dominated. But if
the roles she’s playing are
any indication, De Armas
won’t be just another
beautiful sidekick. ‘They’re
both the rock of their
partner,’ she says. ‘They are
understanding, and they
forgive.’ And their motto?
‘Don’t fuck with me.’Words by Clay SkipperTHE EDIT