Chris Evans has nothing but praise for his Ghosted co-star Ana de Armas and her dedication to intense stunt work. Slated to premiere on Apple TV+ this month, Ghosted is an action romantic comedy based on a story from Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Directed by Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher, the film was originally intended to star Scarlett Johansson opposite Evans, but scheduling conflicts forced her to be replaced by de Armas.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Evans expresses his admiration for de Armas, who he previously worked with on Knives Out and The Gray Man. Suggesting that the fast-rising star “throws himself completely into everything,” he compared his work to stunt to something similar to what audiences would see in the Black Widow Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here are his comments:
“Besides working with Ana again… she’s amazing. We’ve done a few things together now, and it’s great. She throws herself completely into everything. The first action sequence we did, he was doing Black Widow level stuff. Really amazing stunt work, where I was like, ‘Wow, you’ve done your stunt training.’ She really got busy. I mean, we’ve seen it in Bond too, haven’t we? I mean, she was so good in Bond. So classy and natural. So yeah, it was kind of an obvious choice.”
Beginning her career as a teenager in her native Cuba and later relocating to Spain, de Armas’ first English-language role was in the 2015 erotic thriller Knock Knock, opposite Keanu Reeves. However, it was her portrayal as Ryan Gosling’s artificial sidekick Joi in 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 that truly introduced her to a wider international audience. Since then, the star on the rise has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses, playing lead roles in films such as Knives Out and the Marilyn Monroe film, Blonde.
His appearance in the 2021 Bond film No Time To Die however proved his abilities in the field of action. Though she appeared briefly in the film, de Armas’ action-focused performance as CIA operative Paloma was widely considered one of the highlights of Daniel Craig’s latest Bond adventure. Since then, she’s not only tackling other action-heavy roles, including 2022’s The Gray Man and the upcoming Ghosted, but she’s also been cast as the lead in the upcoming John Wick spinoff, Ballerina.
Despite having an obvious aptitude for action roles and the required stunt work, de Armas herself isn’t sure that becoming an action star is something she necessarily wishes to pursue. Earlier this year, she hinted that Ballerina would likely be her last action role for a while, as she longs to pursue more character work. While it’s understandable that she wants to stretch her dramatic muscles, she also seems to be a natural fit for roles like the one she’s poised to play in Ghosted. With any luck, audiences could see her tackling both types of projects in the future.