Ana De Armas Talks Training For No Time To Die Role (It’s Not What You Might Guess)

Ana de Armas has been forging a new path in her career, as she’s becoming more and more of an action star. You can thank the training routines she’s undergone for films like The Gray Man and No Time To Die for that particular development, as working on both of those films has given her quite the workout. Though surprisingly, when it came to de Armas’ role of Paloma in the latest 007 adventure, she didn’t get as much training as you’d think.

Apparently, the gap between Ana de Armas' Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde and her reteaming with Daniel Craig wasn’t very long. It certainly didn’t stop her from undertaking a good amount of training for her No Time To Die action sequences, but it’s pretty short considering what you’d think a Bond film would require. de Armas described her James Bond training experience to Harper’s Bazaar thusly:

I tried to have a training plan! My preparation for No Time To Die was not as long as I would have liked it to be. I was shooting Blonde, and I had only a few days to train, so I went straight from Blonde to shoot for Bond. I didn’t have the time to actually commit to any kind of diet or workout or training because my schedule just didn’t allow for it.

What Ana de Armas describes above sounds like something very different from what she’s undergone for her further adventures in action. Thanks to Netflix’s The Gray Man, we’ve seen the actor show off her shooting skills (in addition to the 9 to 2 sessions she’s undergone to get into fighting shape), that new experience already feels more intense than the No Time To Die experience. But upon further clarification, that short period of action prep was still pretty rigorous:

Those few days that I did have some training – I had the gun training and learned the choreography for the scenes – were very intense, for sure. It was a short but really intense immersion into the Bond universe, so I quickly transformed into a CIA agent.

So while it may have been a comparatively shorter experience, the James Bond franchise still gave Ana de Armas a run for her money. She may not have been able to go full method with diet and exercise as she had intended, but the Knives Out actor did get to flex some muscles and help put James Bond in his place, while conveniently saving him in the field. Clearly, that accelerated training schedule paid off and, now, Ms. de Armas is ready for whatever action challenges are thrown her way.

No Time To Die finally reveals all to the world on September 30th in the UK and October 8th in the US. Meanwhile, Ana de Armas fans can expect upcoming films like Blonde, The Gray Man, and Deep Water to be released in the near future. So be sure to check both the 2021 and 2022 release schedules, to see where and when those films will finally land.

Mike Reyes
Senior Movies Contributor

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.