Ana de Armas Wants More Latinas in Action Films After 'Magical' James Bond Role: 'You Don't Want To Mess With That'

With Ana de Armas becoming a scene stealer in No Time to Die, and is set to headline her own action film next month in John Wick Presents: Ballerina, the actress is calling for more Latinas to lead their own action films.

via: EW

In a new YouTube interview with Entertainment Weekly (above), the Cuban-Spanish star reminisced on her time shooting the 2021 James Bond film No Time to Die, calling it "a dream come true for many reasons."

She had such a positive experience playing the dynamo CIA agent Paloma that she professes she's become an "advocate for Latinas to be in action films." Jokingly, she adds, "Trust me, you don't want to mess with that."

"It was magical, I had a wonderful experience, it was so much fun," de Armas continued. "Paloma is one of my favorite characters from everything I've ever done. She turned out to be really special."

The Bond films have long provided a platform for powerful female characters, from Famke Janssen's Xenia Onatopp (GoldenEye) to Maud Adams' Andrea Anders (The Man With the Golden Gun). No Time to Die was a particular goldmine of women who proved they could go toe-to-toe with 007 — and even outmaneuver him. Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, and Naomie Harris all joined de Armas in the most recent installment.

But before de Armas, only a small handful Latina actresses had appeared in Bond films, including Talisa Soto, who played Lupe Lamora in License to Kill, and Barbara Carrera, who played Fatima Blush in Never Say Never Again.

Following in the footsteps of actresses like Michelle Rodriguez, who has been tearing up the screen since playing an amateur boxer in her film debut, 2000's Girlfight, and Salma Hayek, whose breakout role was in the action-packed 1995 Western Desperado, de Armas has built an impressive portfolio of films that showcase her action shops.

Following her turn in No Time to Die, de Armas starred in the Russo brothers' Netflix thriller The Gray Man, the action-infused romcom Ghosted, and most recently, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, a spinoff in the film and TV universe that casts de Armas as its butt-kicking star.

While de Armas wants more Latinas in action, she'd rather them lead their own films, not Bond films.

"There's no need for a female Bond. There shouldn't be any need to steal someone else's character," she said in 2024. "What I would like is that the female roles in the Bond films, even though Bond will continue to be a man, are brought to life in a different way."

Reminiscing on her scenes with Bond star Daniel Craig, who left the franchise after No Time to Die, de Armas told EW, "I loved working with Daniel. Daniel is a great partner on set. He's a wonderful actor. He's so much fun. He's hilarious. I auditioned for Knives Out and that happened, and it was incredible for me. But then the James Bond thing didn't even come because Daniel and I had worked together; it was a really great coincidence that that happened."