Mystery movie takes over Brisbane street with high-speed stunt
A high-speed film stunt shut a major road in the heart of Brisbane on Sunday, with a heavily modified Fuso truck racing up and down Queen Street for much of the afternoon.
What appeared to be a large prop laser gun was attached to the roof, with 'D.R.T. Defibrillation + Resuscitation' written along both sides of the truck.
An Audi SUV with an articulated camera arm was in tow for each run.
Workers on the scene would not reveal what film was being shot, but the truck looked very similar to one on the Brisbane set of upcoming Hollywood production Godzilla x Kong: Supernova last month.
Due for release in early 2027, the project is directed by Australian Grant Sputore and stars US actress Kaitlyn Dever, who played Brisbane-raised fraudster Belle Gibson in the hit Netflix show Apple Cider Vinegar.
In May, William Street was transformed into a devastated London road for the Godzilla blockbuster, with smashed cars and tanks strewn outside Star Casino.
The film is part of the Monsterverse franchise.
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Ferrari has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race for the third year in a row but with Poland's Robert Kubica taking the chequered flag for the privately-run AF Corse team ahead of the red factory cars. The former Formula One driver's yellow number 83 car, shared with China's Yifei Yi and Britain's Phil Hanson, crossed the line after 387 laps of the Sarthe circuit in the 93rd edition of the race on Sunday. The number 6 Porsche Penske, shared by France's Kevin Estre, Belgian Laurens Vanthoor and Australian Matt Campbell, finished second, 14.084 seconds behind. The 51 factory Ferrari of 2023 winners Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado completed the podium with last year's winners Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina fourth in the number 50 Ferrari. Kubica's triumph came on the same weekend as the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the scene of his only Formula One win with BMW Sauber in 2008 after a huge crash at the same track in 2007. It also capped an astonishing racing redemption story for the 40-year-old whose Formula One career ended after a near-fatal rally crash in Italy in 2011 that partially severed his right forearm. Ferrari has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race for the third year in a row but with Poland's Robert Kubica taking the chequered flag for the privately-run AF Corse team ahead of the red factory cars. The former Formula One driver's yellow number 83 car, shared with China's Yifei Yi and Britain's Phil Hanson, crossed the line after 387 laps of the Sarthe circuit in the 93rd edition of the race on Sunday. The number 6 Porsche Penske, shared by France's Kevin Estre, Belgian Laurens Vanthoor and Australian Matt Campbell, finished second, 14.084 seconds behind. The 51 factory Ferrari of 2023 winners Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado completed the podium with last year's winners Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina fourth in the number 50 Ferrari. Kubica's triumph came on the same weekend as the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the scene of his only Formula One win with BMW Sauber in 2008 after a huge crash at the same track in 2007. It also capped an astonishing racing redemption story for the 40-year-old whose Formula One career ended after a near-fatal rally crash in Italy in 2011 that partially severed his right forearm. Ferrari has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race for the third year in a row but with Poland's Robert Kubica taking the chequered flag for the privately-run AF Corse team ahead of the red factory cars. The former Formula One driver's yellow number 83 car, shared with China's Yifei Yi and Britain's Phil Hanson, crossed the line after 387 laps of the Sarthe circuit in the 93rd edition of the race on Sunday. The number 6 Porsche Penske, shared by France's Kevin Estre, Belgian Laurens Vanthoor and Australian Matt Campbell, finished second, 14.084 seconds behind. The 51 factory Ferrari of 2023 winners Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado completed the podium with last year's winners Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina fourth in the number 50 Ferrari. Kubica's triumph came on the same weekend as the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the scene of his only Formula One win with BMW Sauber in 2008 after a huge crash at the same track in 2007. It also capped an astonishing racing redemption story for the 40-year-old whose Formula One career ended after a near-fatal rally crash in Italy in 2011 that partially severed his right forearm. Ferrari has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race for the third year in a row but with Poland's Robert Kubica taking the chequered flag for the privately-run AF Corse team ahead of the red factory cars. The former Formula One driver's yellow number 83 car, shared with China's Yifei Yi and Britain's Phil Hanson, crossed the line after 387 laps of the Sarthe circuit in the 93rd edition of the race on Sunday. The number 6 Porsche Penske, shared by France's Kevin Estre, Belgian Laurens Vanthoor and Australian Matt Campbell, finished second, 14.084 seconds behind. The 51 factory Ferrari of 2023 winners Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado completed the podium with last year's winners Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina fourth in the number 50 Ferrari. Kubica's triumph came on the same weekend as the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the scene of his only Formula One win with BMW Sauber in 2008 after a huge crash at the same track in 2007. It also capped an astonishing racing redemption story for the 40-year-old whose Formula One career ended after a near-fatal rally crash in Italy in 2011 that partially severed his right forearm.
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Life has come full circle for new John Wick star
Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. The erotic thriller Knock Knock, released in 2015, was de Armas' first Hollywood film. De Armas, born and raised in Cuba, had just come to Los Angeles after acting in Spain. English was new to her, so she had to learn her lines phonetically. "It was tough and I felt miserable at times and very lonely," she says. "But I wanted to prove myself. I remember being in meetings with producers and they would be like, 'OK, I'll see you in a year when you learn English.' Before I left the office, I would say, 'I'll see you in two months'." Since Knock Knock, her rise to stardom has been one of the last decade's most meteoric. She was radiant even as a hologram in Blade Runner 2049. She stole the show in Rian Johnson's star-studded Knives Out. She breezed through the Bond movie No Time to Die and was Oscar nominated for her Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. And now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In Ballerina, de Armas's progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo, inheriting the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises. "It's a big moment in my career, and I know that. I can see that," she says. "It makes me look back in many ways, just being with Keanu in another film in such a different place in my career. It definitely gives me perspective of the journey and everything since we met. Things have come far since then." While de Armas, 37, isn't new to movie stardom, or the tabloid coverage that comes with it, many of her career highlights have been streaming releases. The Gray Man and Blonde were Netflix. Ghosted was Apple TV+. But Ballerina will rely on de Armas (and abiding "John Wick" fandom) to put moviegoers in seats. Reviews, particularly for de Armas playing a ballerina-assassin, have been good. "There's a lot of pressure," says director Len Wiseman. "It's a lot to carry all on her shoulders. But she'll be the first person to tell you: 'Put it on. Let me carry the weight. I'm totally game'." De Armas, whose talents include the ability to be present and personable on even the most frenzied red carpets, has done the globe-trotting work to make Ballerina a big deal: appearing at CinemaCon, gamely eating hot wings and cheerfully deflecting questions about her next film, Deeper, with Tom Cruise. Yet for someone so comfortable in the spotlight, one of the more interesting facts about de Armas is that she lives part-time in that bastion of young A-listers: Vermont. "Yeah, it surprised many people," she says, chuckling. "As soon as I went up there, I knew that was going to be a place that would bring me happiness and sanity and peace. But I know for a Cuban who doesn't like cold very much, it's very strange." Winding up in northern New England is just as unexpected as landing an action movie like Ballerina. She grew up with the conviction, from age 12, that she would be an actor. But she studied theatre. "I never thought I was going to do action," de Armas says. "What was relatable for me was watching Cuban actors on TV and in movies. That was my reality. That's all I knew, so the actors I looked up to were those." De Armas also had bad asthma, which makes some of the things she does in Ballerina - a movie with a flamethrower duel - all the more remarkable to her. "I couldn't do anything," she remembers. "I couldn't run. I sometimes couldn't play with my friends. I had to just be home and be still so I wouldn't get an asthma attack. So I never thought of myself as someone athletic or able to run just a block. So this has been a surprise." At 14, she auditioned and got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba. Four years later, with Spanish citizenship through her grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue acting. When she arrived in LA in 2014, she had to start all over again. Now as one of the top Latina stars in Hollywood, she's watched as immigrant paths like hers have grown increasingly arduous if not impossible. The Trump administration recently announced a travel ban on 12 countries and heavy restrictions on citizens of other countries, including Cuba. "I got here at a time when things were definitely easier in that sense," says de Armas, who announced her then-imminent US citizenship while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023. "So I just feel very lucky for that. But it's difficult. Everything that's going on is very difficult and very sad and really challenging for many people. I definitely wish things were different." Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick films and producer of Ballerina, was about to start production on John Wick: Chapter 4 when producer Basil Iwanyk called to set up a Zoom about casting de Armas. He quickly watched every scene she had been in. "How many people would have played the Bond girl kind of goofy like that?" he asks. "I know that I can harden people up. I know I can make them the assassin, but getting the charm and the love and the humour out of someone is trickier. But she had it." In Knives Out, Stahelski saw someone who could go from scared and uncertain to a look of "I'm going to stab you in the eye". "I like that in my action heroes," he says. "I don't want to see the stoic, superhero vibe where everything's going to be OK." But it wasn't just her acting or her charisma that convinced Stahelski. It was her life story. "John Wick is all hard work - and I don't mean just in the training. You've got to love it and put yourself out there," says Stahelski. "When you get her story about how she came from the age of 12, got into acting, what she sacrificed, what she did, that's what got my attention. 'Oh, she's a perseverer. She doesn't just enjoy the view, she enjoys the climb'." When that quote is read back to her, de Armas laughs, and agrees. "Being Cuban, and my upbringing and my family and everything I've done, I've never had a plan B," she says. "I've never had that thing of, 'Well, if it doesn't work, my family can help.' Or, 'I can do this other career.' This was it. This is how I feed myself and my family. So it's also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility." That makes her reflect back to when she was just trying to make it in Hollywood, sounding out words and trying not to be intimidated by the action star across from her. "I was so committed to do it," she says. "When I give something a shot, I try my best, whatever that is. Then I can actually say: I gave it a shot." Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. The erotic thriller Knock Knock, released in 2015, was de Armas' first Hollywood film. De Armas, born and raised in Cuba, had just come to Los Angeles after acting in Spain. English was new to her, so she had to learn her lines phonetically. "It was tough and I felt miserable at times and very lonely," she says. "But I wanted to prove myself. I remember being in meetings with producers and they would be like, 'OK, I'll see you in a year when you learn English.' Before I left the office, I would say, 'I'll see you in two months'." Since Knock Knock, her rise to stardom has been one of the last decade's most meteoric. She was radiant even as a hologram in Blade Runner 2049. She stole the show in Rian Johnson's star-studded Knives Out. She breezed through the Bond movie No Time to Die and was Oscar nominated for her Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. And now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In Ballerina, de Armas's progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo, inheriting the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises. "It's a big moment in my career, and I know that. I can see that," she says. "It makes me look back in many ways, just being with Keanu in another film in such a different place in my career. It definitely gives me perspective of the journey and everything since we met. Things have come far since then." While de Armas, 37, isn't new to movie stardom, or the tabloid coverage that comes with it, many of her career highlights have been streaming releases. The Gray Man and Blonde were Netflix. Ghosted was Apple TV+. But Ballerina will rely on de Armas (and abiding "John Wick" fandom) to put moviegoers in seats. Reviews, particularly for de Armas playing a ballerina-assassin, have been good. "There's a lot of pressure," says director Len Wiseman. "It's a lot to carry all on her shoulders. But she'll be the first person to tell you: 'Put it on. Let me carry the weight. I'm totally game'." De Armas, whose talents include the ability to be present and personable on even the most frenzied red carpets, has done the globe-trotting work to make Ballerina a big deal: appearing at CinemaCon, gamely eating hot wings and cheerfully deflecting questions about her next film, Deeper, with Tom Cruise. Yet for someone so comfortable in the spotlight, one of the more interesting facts about de Armas is that she lives part-time in that bastion of young A-listers: Vermont. "Yeah, it surprised many people," she says, chuckling. "As soon as I went up there, I knew that was going to be a place that would bring me happiness and sanity and peace. But I know for a Cuban who doesn't like cold very much, it's very strange." Winding up in northern New England is just as unexpected as landing an action movie like Ballerina. She grew up with the conviction, from age 12, that she would be an actor. But she studied theatre. "I never thought I was going to do action," de Armas says. "What was relatable for me was watching Cuban actors on TV and in movies. That was my reality. That's all I knew, so the actors I looked up to were those." De Armas also had bad asthma, which makes some of the things she does in Ballerina - a movie with a flamethrower duel - all the more remarkable to her. "I couldn't do anything," she remembers. "I couldn't run. I sometimes couldn't play with my friends. I had to just be home and be still so I wouldn't get an asthma attack. So I never thought of myself as someone athletic or able to run just a block. So this has been a surprise." At 14, she auditioned and got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba. Four years later, with Spanish citizenship through her grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue acting. When she arrived in LA in 2014, she had to start all over again. Now as one of the top Latina stars in Hollywood, she's watched as immigrant paths like hers have grown increasingly arduous if not impossible. The Trump administration recently announced a travel ban on 12 countries and heavy restrictions on citizens of other countries, including Cuba. "I got here at a time when things were definitely easier in that sense," says de Armas, who announced her then-imminent US citizenship while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023. "So I just feel very lucky for that. But it's difficult. Everything that's going on is very difficult and very sad and really challenging for many people. I definitely wish things were different." Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick films and producer of Ballerina, was about to start production on John Wick: Chapter 4 when producer Basil Iwanyk called to set up a Zoom about casting de Armas. He quickly watched every scene she had been in. "How many people would have played the Bond girl kind of goofy like that?" he asks. "I know that I can harden people up. I know I can make them the assassin, but getting the charm and the love and the humour out of someone is trickier. But she had it." In Knives Out, Stahelski saw someone who could go from scared and uncertain to a look of "I'm going to stab you in the eye". "I like that in my action heroes," he says. "I don't want to see the stoic, superhero vibe where everything's going to be OK." But it wasn't just her acting or her charisma that convinced Stahelski. It was her life story. "John Wick is all hard work - and I don't mean just in the training. You've got to love it and put yourself out there," says Stahelski. "When you get her story about how she came from the age of 12, got into acting, what she sacrificed, what she did, that's what got my attention. 'Oh, she's a perseverer. She doesn't just enjoy the view, she enjoys the climb'." When that quote is read back to her, de Armas laughs, and agrees. "Being Cuban, and my upbringing and my family and everything I've done, I've never had a plan B," she says. "I've never had that thing of, 'Well, if it doesn't work, my family can help.' Or, 'I can do this other career.' This was it. This is how I feed myself and my family. So it's also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility." That makes her reflect back to when she was just trying to make it in Hollywood, sounding out words and trying not to be intimidated by the action star across from her. "I was so committed to do it," she says. "When I give something a shot, I try my best, whatever that is. Then I can actually say: I gave it a shot." Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. The erotic thriller Knock Knock, released in 2015, was de Armas' first Hollywood film. De Armas, born and raised in Cuba, had just come to Los Angeles after acting in Spain. English was new to her, so she had to learn her lines phonetically. "It was tough and I felt miserable at times and very lonely," she says. "But I wanted to prove myself. I remember being in meetings with producers and they would be like, 'OK, I'll see you in a year when you learn English.' Before I left the office, I would say, 'I'll see you in two months'." Since Knock Knock, her rise to stardom has been one of the last decade's most meteoric. She was radiant even as a hologram in Blade Runner 2049. She stole the show in Rian Johnson's star-studded Knives Out. She breezed through the Bond movie No Time to Die and was Oscar nominated for her Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. And now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In Ballerina, de Armas's progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo, inheriting the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises. "It's a big moment in my career, and I know that. I can see that," she says. "It makes me look back in many ways, just being with Keanu in another film in such a different place in my career. It definitely gives me perspective of the journey and everything since we met. Things have come far since then." While de Armas, 37, isn't new to movie stardom, or the tabloid coverage that comes with it, many of her career highlights have been streaming releases. The Gray Man and Blonde were Netflix. Ghosted was Apple TV+. But Ballerina will rely on de Armas (and abiding "John Wick" fandom) to put moviegoers in seats. Reviews, particularly for de Armas playing a ballerina-assassin, have been good. "There's a lot of pressure," says director Len Wiseman. "It's a lot to carry all on her shoulders. But she'll be the first person to tell you: 'Put it on. Let me carry the weight. I'm totally game'." De Armas, whose talents include the ability to be present and personable on even the most frenzied red carpets, has done the globe-trotting work to make Ballerina a big deal: appearing at CinemaCon, gamely eating hot wings and cheerfully deflecting questions about her next film, Deeper, with Tom Cruise. Yet for someone so comfortable in the spotlight, one of the more interesting facts about de Armas is that she lives part-time in that bastion of young A-listers: Vermont. "Yeah, it surprised many people," she says, chuckling. "As soon as I went up there, I knew that was going to be a place that would bring me happiness and sanity and peace. But I know for a Cuban who doesn't like cold very much, it's very strange." Winding up in northern New England is just as unexpected as landing an action movie like Ballerina. She grew up with the conviction, from age 12, that she would be an actor. But she studied theatre. "I never thought I was going to do action," de Armas says. "What was relatable for me was watching Cuban actors on TV and in movies. That was my reality. That's all I knew, so the actors I looked up to were those." De Armas also had bad asthma, which makes some of the things she does in Ballerina - a movie with a flamethrower duel - all the more remarkable to her. "I couldn't do anything," she remembers. "I couldn't run. I sometimes couldn't play with my friends. I had to just be home and be still so I wouldn't get an asthma attack. So I never thought of myself as someone athletic or able to run just a block. So this has been a surprise." At 14, she auditioned and got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba. Four years later, with Spanish citizenship through her grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue acting. When she arrived in LA in 2014, she had to start all over again. Now as one of the top Latina stars in Hollywood, she's watched as immigrant paths like hers have grown increasingly arduous if not impossible. The Trump administration recently announced a travel ban on 12 countries and heavy restrictions on citizens of other countries, including Cuba. "I got here at a time when things were definitely easier in that sense," says de Armas, who announced her then-imminent US citizenship while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023. "So I just feel very lucky for that. But it's difficult. Everything that's going on is very difficult and very sad and really challenging for many people. I definitely wish things were different." Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick films and producer of Ballerina, was about to start production on John Wick: Chapter 4 when producer Basil Iwanyk called to set up a Zoom about casting de Armas. He quickly watched every scene she had been in. "How many people would have played the Bond girl kind of goofy like that?" he asks. "I know that I can harden people up. I know I can make them the assassin, but getting the charm and the love and the humour out of someone is trickier. But she had it." In Knives Out, Stahelski saw someone who could go from scared and uncertain to a look of "I'm going to stab you in the eye". "I like that in my action heroes," he says. "I don't want to see the stoic, superhero vibe where everything's going to be OK." But it wasn't just her acting or her charisma that convinced Stahelski. It was her life story. "John Wick is all hard work - and I don't mean just in the training. You've got to love it and put yourself out there," says Stahelski. "When you get her story about how she came from the age of 12, got into acting, what she sacrificed, what she did, that's what got my attention. 'Oh, she's a perseverer. She doesn't just enjoy the view, she enjoys the climb'." When that quote is read back to her, de Armas laughs, and agrees. "Being Cuban, and my upbringing and my family and everything I've done, I've never had a plan B," she says. "I've never had that thing of, 'Well, if it doesn't work, my family can help.' Or, 'I can do this other career.' This was it. This is how I feed myself and my family. So it's also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility." That makes her reflect back to when she was just trying to make it in Hollywood, sounding out words and trying not to be intimidated by the action star across from her. "I was so committed to do it," she says. "When I give something a shot, I try my best, whatever that is. Then I can actually say: I gave it a shot." Years before Ana de Armas was using an ice skate to slice a neck in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, she co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a much different film. The erotic thriller Knock Knock, released in 2015, was de Armas' first Hollywood film. De Armas, born and raised in Cuba, had just come to Los Angeles after acting in Spain. English was new to her, so she had to learn her lines phonetically. "It was tough and I felt miserable at times and very lonely," she says. "But I wanted to prove myself. I remember being in meetings with producers and they would be like, 'OK, I'll see you in a year when you learn English.' Before I left the office, I would say, 'I'll see you in two months'." Since Knock Knock, her rise to stardom has been one of the last decade's most meteoric. She was radiant even as a hologram in Blade Runner 2049. She stole the show in Rian Johnson's star-studded Knives Out. She breezed through the Bond movie No Time to Die and was Oscar nominated for her Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. And now, 10 years after those scenes with Reeves, de Armas is for the first time headlining a big summer action movie. In Ballerina, de Armas's progressive development as an unlikely action star reaches a butt-kicking crescendo, inheriting the mantle of one of the most esteemed, high-body-count franchises. "It's a big moment in my career, and I know that. I can see that," she says. "It makes me look back in many ways, just being with Keanu in another film in such a different place in my career. It definitely gives me perspective of the journey and everything since we met. Things have come far since then." While de Armas, 37, isn't new to movie stardom, or the tabloid coverage that comes with it, many of her career highlights have been streaming releases. The Gray Man and Blonde were Netflix. Ghosted was Apple TV+. But Ballerina will rely on de Armas (and abiding "John Wick" fandom) to put moviegoers in seats. Reviews, particularly for de Armas playing a ballerina-assassin, have been good. "There's a lot of pressure," says director Len Wiseman. "It's a lot to carry all on her shoulders. But she'll be the first person to tell you: 'Put it on. Let me carry the weight. I'm totally game'." De Armas, whose talents include the ability to be present and personable on even the most frenzied red carpets, has done the globe-trotting work to make Ballerina a big deal: appearing at CinemaCon, gamely eating hot wings and cheerfully deflecting questions about her next film, Deeper, with Tom Cruise. Yet for someone so comfortable in the spotlight, one of the more interesting facts about de Armas is that she lives part-time in that bastion of young A-listers: Vermont. "Yeah, it surprised many people," she says, chuckling. "As soon as I went up there, I knew that was going to be a place that would bring me happiness and sanity and peace. But I know for a Cuban who doesn't like cold very much, it's very strange." Winding up in northern New England is just as unexpected as landing an action movie like Ballerina. She grew up with the conviction, from age 12, that she would be an actor. But she studied theatre. "I never thought I was going to do action," de Armas says. "What was relatable for me was watching Cuban actors on TV and in movies. That was my reality. That's all I knew, so the actors I looked up to were those." De Armas also had bad asthma, which makes some of the things she does in Ballerina - a movie with a flamethrower duel - all the more remarkable to her. "I couldn't do anything," she remembers. "I couldn't run. I sometimes couldn't play with my friends. I had to just be home and be still so I wouldn't get an asthma attack. So I never thought of myself as someone athletic or able to run just a block. So this has been a surprise." At 14, she auditioned and got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba. Four years later, with Spanish citizenship through her grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue acting. When she arrived in LA in 2014, she had to start all over again. Now as one of the top Latina stars in Hollywood, she's watched as immigrant paths like hers have grown increasingly arduous if not impossible. The Trump administration recently announced a travel ban on 12 countries and heavy restrictions on citizens of other countries, including Cuba. "I got here at a time when things were definitely easier in that sense," says de Armas, who announced her then-imminent US citizenship while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023. "So I just feel very lucky for that. But it's difficult. Everything that's going on is very difficult and very sad and really challenging for many people. I definitely wish things were different." Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick films and producer of Ballerina, was about to start production on John Wick: Chapter 4 when producer Basil Iwanyk called to set up a Zoom about casting de Armas. He quickly watched every scene she had been in. "How many people would have played the Bond girl kind of goofy like that?" he asks. "I know that I can harden people up. I know I can make them the assassin, but getting the charm and the love and the humour out of someone is trickier. But she had it." In Knives Out, Stahelski saw someone who could go from scared and uncertain to a look of "I'm going to stab you in the eye". "I like that in my action heroes," he says. "I don't want to see the stoic, superhero vibe where everything's going to be OK." But it wasn't just her acting or her charisma that convinced Stahelski. It was her life story. "John Wick is all hard work - and I don't mean just in the training. You've got to love it and put yourself out there," says Stahelski. "When you get her story about how she came from the age of 12, got into acting, what she sacrificed, what she did, that's what got my attention. 'Oh, she's a perseverer. She doesn't just enjoy the view, she enjoys the climb'." When that quote is read back to her, de Armas laughs, and agrees. "Being Cuban, and my upbringing and my family and everything I've done, I've never had a plan B," she says. "I've never had that thing of, 'Well, if it doesn't work, my family can help.' Or, 'I can do this other career.' This was it. This is how I feed myself and my family. So it's also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility." That makes her reflect back to when she was just trying to make it in Hollywood, sounding out words and trying not to be intimidated by the action star across from her. "I was so committed to do it," she says. "When I give something a shot, I try my best, whatever that is. Then I can actually say: I gave it a shot."
