The 10 Best Ana De Armas Movies, Ranked

Let’s be honest, not a whole lot of people were on board for Dexter Fletcher’s switch from directing successful biopics (Bohemian Rhapsody,Rocketman) to making his version ofTrue Lies, but despite never quite rising above the below-par material, Ghosted is still somewhat significant in the de Armas back catalogue—even if fans of the actress, myself included, would probably rather forget it ever happened.

She has almost zero chemistry with her co-star, Chris Evans, which is understandable considering she replaced Scarlett Johansson, Evans’ The Avengers co-star, at the last minute. It remains significant, however, for being de Armas’s first time getting top billing on a film of this scale. Thankfully, it also wasn’t the last. 

Knock Knock is not one of Eli Roth’s more successful movies, but for fans of his work, it’s an interesting one to look into. Released in 2015, the film was also de Armas’ first in Hollywood, though it hasn’t aged as well as the others. 

Shot around the time of John Wick’s release, Knock Knock is also one of the last movies in Keanu Reeves’ mid-career slump, and though director Eli Roth plays with the tropes of home invasion horror in interesting ways, the film is never as clever as you want it to be. Despite this, it’s worth revisiting for the strength of its cast, especially for the chance to see de Armas in one of her early roles. Critics at the time found her performance unconvincing, but there are certainly signs of the sultry, scene-stealing charisma she would bring to later roles.

War Dogs is a film that any fan of the Nick Cage hit Lord of War will probably like, even if it’s not on the same level. With a juicy real-life story, a red-hot cast, and a pre-Joker Todd Phillips in the director’s chair, War Dogs looked to have all the right ingredients in place for a fun and thrilling ride. 

Unfortunately, it never quite finds the right tone. Still, as the girlfriend to Miles Teller’s accidental arms dealer, it’s an interesting movie for fans of de Armas specifically, capturing her just as she began her ascent as a rising star.

In Eden, Ron Howard cast de Armas as the extravagant, and extravagantly named, Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrborn—so if you like the idea of seeing the actress camp it up a bit while eating the scenery, this might be the de Armas joint for you.

Set in the 1920s, the story follows a real-life German couple who relocated to the Galápagos Islands after the First World War. The cast also includes stars like Vanessa Kirby and Jude Law, playing the idealistic Dora and Friedrich Ritter, but it’s de Armas who gets to have the most fun. 

Wasp Network is probably the closest thing to an indie side project that de Armas has worked on since breaking into Hollywood, so if you’re interested in seeing the actor work in that register, or you like drug trade movies like American Made, it’s worth a look. Just don’t go in expecting the next Scarface.

The movie is an engaging if wildly overcomplicated spy thriller. It’s directed by French auteur Olivier Assayas and set in Florida in the 1990s, where de Armas plays the trophy wife of an FBI informant played by the handsome Narcos star, Wagner Moura. Gael García Bernal and Penélope Cruz round out an impossibly talented (and attractive) cast.

If you like your movies steamy (specifically director Adrian Lyne’s other classics, like Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal), then you’ll probably get a kick out of Lyne’s recent attempt at reviving the genre,Deep Water.

The movie is a hot and heavy tale of a married couple whose polyamorous agreement might be benefiting one of them more than the other—typical. The reviews were a bit tough on it, but there was no denying the chemistry between Ben Affleck and de Armas. The co-stars even continued to see each other after the cameras stopped rolling.

If you’re sensitive to seeing exploitative, misogynistic behaviour on screen, we recommend approaching Andrew Dominik’s Blonde with some degree of caution. If you’re a fan of more artsy, impressionistic biopics like A Quiet Passion or At Eternity’s Gate, though, it’s definitely worth checking out.

In truth, there are many reasons not to like Dominik’s biopic of the troubled Hollywood legend, Marlyn Monroe, but de Armas’ central performance certainly isn’t one of them. For her most wildly anticipated role, de Armas finds a sweet spot between caricature and reality that, for some reason, feels suited to Monroe’s stratospheric fame. Pouring everything she had into the performance rightfully earned her a nomination (Cuba’s first ever) for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.

If you’re a fan of Ridley Scott’s original or stylish, thought-provoking sci-fi in general, Blade Runner 2049 is really one of the best to do it in recent years. Denis Villeneuve’s dazzling update of the sci-fi classic was a masterclass in worldbuilding and mood, but it also introduced de Armas to a whole new audience, myself included.

In another actor’s hands, her character, Joi (a kind of digital girlfriend to Ryan Gosling’s Agent K), could have easily been little more than an instrument for Gosling’s replicant to question his reality. Yet de Armas imbues her with real warmth and curiosity. The scene when Joi experiences the touch of rain for the first time is a moment I still think of from time to time.

No Time to Die isn’t so appreciated by some of the most diehard Bond fans, but if you like your 007 with a little bit of sentimentality, it’s well worth checking out. And not least for de Armas’s effervescent cameo.

The actor was reportedly already being considered by Cary Fukunaga for a role in Daniel Craig’s final Bond even before the two actors worked together on Knives Out. Whether or not it helped to seal the deal, it certainly didn’t hurt their chemistry. Armas is on screen for less than 20 minutes, but, once again, almost steals the entire film as Agent Paloma. As Bond says with a parting glance, “You were excellent.” We agree!

If you like murder mysteries with exceptional casts that twist and turn on the way to a clever denouncement (imagine a modern take on Murder on the Orient Express),Knives Out is the kind of movie you’ll want to watch again and again. Daniel Craig and his hilarious southern drawl took most of the spotlight around the movie’s release, but a then still relatively unknown de Armas arguably stole the show.

Watchful, endearing, and costumed in deceptive mittens, she became the film’s secret weapon (in more ways than one), riding a wave of recognition to a Golden Globes nomination. The fact that Rian Johnson’s riff on Cluedo and Agatha Christie ended up spawning a trilogy of movies and one of the biggest acquisitions in Netflix’s history is a twist even Benoit Blanc might not have seen coming.