Ana de Armas Says It Took Her 9 Months to Perfect Marilyn Monroe's Voice for New Film: 'So Exhausting'
Playing Marilyn Monroe is no easy task!
In a new interview with U.K. publication The Sunday Times, which took place prior to her split from Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas — who will play the legendary screen siren in the upcoming film Blonde — shared that it took months of work to perfect Monroe's signature breathy voice.
"I tried!" the Cuban-born actress, 32, said. "It only took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing, and some ADR sessions."
"It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried," she added.
De Armas also spoke about the parallels she noticed between what women in the film industry decades ago had to deal with and what still goes on today.
"I had a lot of thoughts as a woman in the industry, and even in general, about how things from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s are so relatable to nowadays," she said. "And how if you don't have a strong base, with your family and so on, it's really hard to make it through — really hard."
Elsewhere in the interview, de Armas shared a brief aside about Affleck, who was photographed wearing several Spanish-language shirts throughout their relationship. "I also have these T-shirts, I just use them more at home, but Ben has become obsessed with them," she said of the actor, who is fluent in Spanish.
PEOPLE confirmed last week that Affleck and de Armas had agreed to go their separate ways.
"Ben is no longer dating Ana," a source told PEOPLE. "Their relationship was complicated. Ana doesn't want to be Los Angeles based and Ben obviously has to since his kids live in Los Angeles."
"This is something that was mutual and something that is completely amicable," another source added. "They are in different points in their lives."
The pair was first romantically linked in March 2020 after meeting on the New Orleans set for Deep Water. De Armas confirmed their relationship the following month when she shared photos with Affleck in celebration of her 32nd birthday.
RELATED VIDEO: Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas Split, Says Source: 'They Are in Different Points in Their Lives'
Affleck's brother, Casey Affleck, recently opened up about the pair's split, saying, "the reality is, I think that this year has been really hard on people in relationships."
"I think that Ana is just the sweetest, funniest, smartest, most charming person. I think she won't have any problems meeting somebody else," he told Entertainment Tonight while promoting his new movie Our Friend, adding that he has high hopes for her career.
"I saw her performance as Marilyn Monroe in this movie called Blonde, which hasn't come out, and I would bet a lot that she's gonna pick up every single award," Casey said, praise de Armas' performance as Monroe. "She's gonna have a good year. I'm not too worried about her."
