Ana De Armas Asked Marilyn Monroe’s Grave For ‘Permission’ To Play Her In ‘Blonde’

Marilyn Monroe had a prolific life in the spotlight that unfortunately ended too soon. She has been back in the spotlight as of late after Kim Kardashian famously wore Monroe’s iconic dress at the Met Gala earlier this year, which sparked an online debate over what crosses the line when it comes to deceased celebrities.

Ana de Armas was also trying to figure out a way to honor Monroe’s legacy while filming Blonde, the upcoming biopic which chronicles Monroe’s tragic yet eclectic life. In order to get “permission,” de Armas said that the cast and crew wrote a note and left it on Monroe’s grave.

“We got this big card, and everyone in the crew wrote a message to her,” the actress explained to AnOther Mag. “Then we went to the cemetery and put it on her grave. We were asking for permission in a way. Everyone felt a huge responsibility, and we were very aware of the side of the story we were going to tell — the story of Norma Jeane, the person behind this character, Marilyn Monroe. Who was she really”

The Knives Out actress said that she felt Monroe’s presence all throughout filming, and began to think that she was giving de Armas her blessing. “I would go to sleep and dream I had long conversations with her, or little things — like once we were choosing which color vase we’d put flowers in,” de Armas said. “I don’t want it to seem like I’m saying, ‘Marilyn and I were connected’ — not at all. But I was thinking of her so much, some days I would go home and have dinner and as I was washing the dishes I would just start sobbing, crying and crying, because I had this terrible feeling — I knew I couldn’t fix it.”

Blonde will debut on Netflix on September 28th, though the movie has been in select theaters and has been met with some mixed reviews with talk of questionable sequences. Perhaps it’s time to really let Monroe rest.