Cuban Spanish actress Ana de Armas has been nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy category for her performance in the hit movie, "Knives Out."
In the film, the actress portrays Marta Cabrera, a caregiver who not only finds herself embroiled in the murder investigation of her former employer, Harlan Thrombey, but is also at the center of volatile conversations about immigration and Americans' perceptions of the issue.
In the movie, Marta's mother is undocumented, a fact that consumes her daily. Meanwhile, her wealthy employers cannot be bothered to remember which country her family is from. A recurring callback in the film includes each family member stating Marta is from a different Latin American country during their one-on-one interviews with investigators.
De Armas, who was also nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress for this role, began her acting career in Spanish film and television and starred in her first American film, "Knock, Knock" in 2015. In 2017, she starred as Joi in the science fiction film "Blade Runner 2049" — a breakout role for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Next year will prove to be a busy one for de Armas, who will appear in "No Time to Die," the next James Bond film, as well as in "Deep Water," based on Patricia Highsmith's psychological novel about a married couple haunted by the unsolved death of one of the wife's former lovers. She will also star as Marilyn Monroe in the Neflix series "Blonde."
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De Armas reportedly auditioned for the role of Marta Cabreras on Skype. She said she originally passed on auditioning for the role because Marta was described as a "pretty Latina caregiver."
"Latinas rarely exist at the center of a film, especially not in the context that we have in this movie. So, because of the character description, my imagination immediately went to a portrayal that was not necessarily very positive or exciting in relation to Latin culture," de Armas told "The Hollywood Reporter. "When I finally read the script, I realized that the description didn’t fit at all because Marta is so much more than that."
De Armas was not the only Latina, Latin American or Spanish artist nominated for a Golden Globe this year. Jennifer Lopez was nominated in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture category for "Hustlers" and Joaquin Phoenix and Antonio Banderas were nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama category for their performances in "Joker" and "Pain and Glory" respectively.
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