Ana de Armas Opens Up About Her “Beautiful Friendship” With Keanu Reeves—and Becoming an Action Star by Accident

Standing onstage at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, Ana de Armas didn’t sound like someone carefully polishing a Hollywood myth. She sounded reflective, grounded, and quietly fierce—an actress looking back at a decade of bold leaps that carried her from Havana to the global spotlight.

In an intimate “In Conversation” session, the Oscar-nominated star opened up about her long-standing friendship with Keanu Reeves, the unlikely path that turned her into an action hero, and the constant fight to avoid being boxed in by the industry—even now, at the peak of her fame.

A Friendship That Began Without Words

De Armas revealed that her bond with Reeves began more than ten years ago, when she had just arrived in Los Angeles and landed her first U.S. role in Eli Roth’s Knock Knock. At the time, she barely spoke English.

“It was kind of a frustrating journey not being able to fully communicate,” she said, recalling those early days. “But we still had a great time. We bonded really well, and we have a beautiful friendship.”

She described Reeves as “incredibly kind and generous,” someone who made her feel welcome in an industry that can often feel impenetrable to outsiders. That friendship came full circle years later when the two reunited on Ballerina, the John Wick spinoff that places De Armas at the center of the franchise’s high-octane universe.

“To have Keanu there again, supporting me ten years later—it meant a lot,” she said. “He and Chad Stahelski built such a beautiful world with those films. Being part of it felt very special.”

An Action Star—Without Planning to Be One

Despite her recent run of physically demanding roles, De Armas insists becoming an action star was never part of a grand plan.

“I never thought of myself as athletic,” she admitted. “I never imagined I’d do action movies.”

It started with No Time to Die, continued through The Gray Man and Ghosted, and escalated dramatically with Ballerina. Each role pushed her further into a genre she hadn’t sought out—but refused to shy away from.

“Ballerina was another level,” she said. “Very challenging. Very demanding. But also exciting. I loved expanding that universe.”

The preparation was relentless. Months of intense training before filming, followed by continued physical work during production. “There’s no time to rehearse everything,” she explained. “You’re learning and adapting on the spot. It’s exhausting—but I enjoyed it. I learned so much.”

Havana Dreams and a Fearless Childhood

De Armas traced her determination back to her childhood in Cuba, where performance wasn’t a career plan—it was a way of life.

“I had a very happy childhood,” she said. “Very free, very social.” She and her neighborhood friends would put on shows, dances, and even form a Spice Girls group. “I always knew I wanted to be an actress. There was no Plan B.”

While studying at theater school in Havana, she landed her first film role—despite students technically being barred from working. She took a year off school to do it.

“Being on set taught me more than being in class,” she said, acknowledging how difficult it was to leave her friends behind, but how transformative the experience became.

Madrid, €300, and a Couch to Sleep On

At just 18, De Armas made her first major leap—moving alone to Madrid with what she thought was enough money to survive.

“I had saved 300 euros,” she said, laughing. “In Cuba, that was a lot of money. Then I arrived in Spain and realized it wasn’t going to last long at all.”

She slept on a friend’s couch for months before landing a role on a hit Spanish TV series that turned her into a household name. The success was real—but limiting.

“I was playing the same kind of young-girl roles for years,” she said. “I loved Spanish cinema, but I wasn’t getting the film work I wanted. That’s when I knew I had to leave.”

Los Angeles: The Most Humbling Move

Her next jump was the hardest yet: Los Angeles.

“I moved with three suitcases and my dog,” she said. “I didn’t speak English—zero. No one knew who I was. My work in Spain and Cuba didn’t exist there.”

It was humbling. Terrifying. Necessary.

“I decided that if I was going to make it work, I had to give it everything.”

The Breakthroughs That Changed Everything

That gamble paid off with Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, which De Armas described as “a dream.”

“Denis is one of my favorite directors,” she said. “The way he works with actors—it made me feel like a kid on set again.”

Then came No Time to Die. “Those fifteen minutes changed my life,” she said. When director Cary Fukunaga told her there would be a Cuban agent in the Bond film, her response was immediate: “If there’s a Cuban agent in a Bond movie, it’s going to be me.”

Her Oscar-nominated turn as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde marked another transformation—this time internal.

“It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “Nine months of preparation. It changed how I approach acting.”

Still Not Playing It Safe

Now, even as Hollywood lines up with offers, De Armas is wary of being boxed in—again.

“Sometimes what the industry offers is not what I want to do,” she said. “It’s me who has to chase what’s next.”

After years of fighting typecasting early in her career, she sees the risk returning in a new form—this time as an action star.

“I’m not here to play it safe,” she said plainly.

And that, more than any role, may explain how Ana de Armas got here—and where she’s headed next.