Ana de Armas thrilled to play Marilyn Monroe in 'groundbreaking' film

Ana de Armas has described her upcoming performance as Marilyn Monroe in biopic Blonde as "groundbreaking".

The Cuban actress will appear as the Hollywood icon in the Andrew Dominik-directed flick, and accordingly, she can't believe her luck at being cast in the role.

"I only had to audition for Marilyn once and Andrew said, 'It's you,' but I had to audition for everyone else. The producers. The money people. I always have people I needed to convince. But I knew I could do it. Playing Marilyn was groundbreaking. A Cuban playing Marilyn Monroe. I wanted it so badly," she told Vanity Fair. "I have never worked more closely with a director than I worked with Andrew. Yes, I have had collaborative relationships, but to get phone calls at midnight because he has an idea and he can't sleep and all of a sudden you can't sleep for the same reason."

Ana grew up in Havana and only learned to speak English a few years ago - mastering the language in just four months.

"People ask, 'How did you learn English so quickly?' I'm like, 'Because my life depended on it'," the 31-year-old explained.

She's since gone on to land roles in thriller Deep Water alongside Ben Affleck, The Night Clerk with Helen Hunt, and will appear alongside Daniel Craig's James Bond in No Time to Die. But Ana insisted her success is all down to hard work.

"I've never had an agenda. All I want to do is work," she added. "All I want to do is get something challenging and prove to myself that I can do it."

Blonde, also starring Adrien Brody and Bobby Cannavale, is due to be released later this year.