Summary

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff interviews Ana de Armas for From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.

De Armas discusses working with 87eleven to tackle difficult stunts, and what the challenging fight choreography made her realize she excels in.

She also talks about how embracing “fighting like a girl” becomes a superpower for her character.

The John Wick universe is expanding with the release of From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, an action-packed spin-off that introduces new characters while building existing ones and the overall lore of the franchise. The film stars Ana de Armas alongside Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus in supporting roles, all joining the franchise for the first time. Meanwhile, Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, and Keanu Reeves reprise their roles from the previous films, as well as Lance Reddick in his final on-screen appearance. De Armas is at the head of the film as Eve Macarro as she begins her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma while seeking revenge for her father’s death. In this interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, de Armas discusses the action of Ballerina. Specifically, she dives into the intense training with 87eleven required to portray Eve, and explains how the experience helped her pinpoint her strengths as a stunt performer. She also addresses what it means to fight like a girl, and how the movie turns that concept into a superpower.
Ana de Armas Trained With 87eleven to Prepare for ‘Ballerina’

Watch out for that “penetration step.”

PERRI NEMIROFF: There’s a lot of ambitious fight choreography in this movie. Can you pinpoint a specific technique or move that came the easiest to you, one you nailed right out of the gate, but then also give me an example of the opposite, one that was the toughest to master? ANA DE ARMAS: I discovered that I’m really good with high kicks. It was a good thing with the ballet training because I was like, “Let’s go for the high kicks! She is a ballerina.” Then, the opposite was also a kick. There’s one thing that’s called the “penetration step.” It’s kind of like you go with one leg to your knee, and then at the same time with the other leg, you do a round kick. So, you try to trip the person on the floor. I don’t know if I’m explaining it well, but that was so hard. That was really, really difficult. I could totally picture it as you explained it!

Image via Lionsgate

I know when you’re working with 87eleven, a big thing is pushing actors to do more of their own stunts. Can you pinpoint a specific stunt in this movie that might make someone out there go, “There’s no way that’s really you doing it,” but it is? DE ARMAS: Those guys at 87eleven are amazing. The way they trained me was so smart, and it was the perfect gradient for me. We went, I’m not kidding, from learning to do a cartwheel to the craziest thing you see in the movie, but it was at the right pace for me. We were able to take our time and see what I was good at, just leaning into my strengths. They were really difficult, manhandling kind of moves and jumps and things like that that I had to do. Listen, everything was hard. Even just holding a gun. Those guns are so heavy that fighting and running and still carrying the gun, and shooting, it’s just extremely difficult.

Image via Lionsgate

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Related

“John Wick Is the Legend That He Is”: ‘Ballerina’ Director Len Wiseman Reveals What Ana de Armas Is Bringing to the Universe

The ‘Ballerina’ director also teases the type of actions fans will see in the spin-off.

Fighting Like a Girl Is a Superpower

“The things that she thought might be a disadvantage, she realizes that she can turn them around.”

I did want to make sure to ask this particular question. It’s a big question, but it is something that is flat-out said in the movie. It’s the idea of “fighting like a girl.” Can you tell me a little bit about embracing the idea of “fighting like a girl,” but also evolving that concept in the process? DE ARMAS: Yes. One of the greatest things in the film is that we see the origin story of this character. We know who she is, but we know very little, and that’s, I think, the conflict that she’s in. She’s coming from a very wounded place and very confused, and she needs to find out what is going on, what happened with her father, and everything. So, in that scene, when she’s told, “Fight like a girl,” she’s so frustrated, and she’s just going through a very tough time, and it’s a big revelation for her. The things that she thought might be a disadvantage, she realizes that she can turn them around and just play them. “Fighting like a girl” can actually be her superpower. All of a sudden, she just changes, and she gets it. It makes her so aware of all the possibilities. She can do things they can do. It is such a good motivation throughout the film. You can see her becoming who she is. Ballerina hits theaters on June 6.

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