“It was really emotional. I’ve never seen anyone burning,” Ana de Armas said of filming an intense stunt scene in ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’
- Ana de Armas said a “risky” flamethrower scene in Ballerina brought tears to her eyes
- “I’ve never seen anyone burning, even though it’s fake,” de Armas explained
- From the World of John Wick: Ballerina arrives in theaters June 6
Ana de Armas is detailing an epic and emotional stunt from her upcoming film, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.
Ahead of its Friday, June 6 release, the 37-year-old actress spoke with Entertainment Weekly about playing Eve, an assassin trained by the Ruska Roma, and a “risky” scene where she wields a flamethrower against a few foes while seeking revenge for her father’s murder.
“I remember the first day the stunt team was practicing with the fire, and they told me to go do it before the shoot, and I said, ‘No, no, no, I’ll be fine,’ ” the Oscar nominee recalled.
Prompted by the stunt team to test her fiery skills before filming, de Armas said, “They got the main fire guy that gets burned, and he’s all covered in this sticky grease or whatever they put for protection, and they’re like, ‘Okay, go ahead. Just burn him.’ And I did, and I started crying.”
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“It was really emotional,” de Armas continued. “I’ve never seen anyone burning, even though it’s fake.”
The Knives Out actress shared that after the test run, she was able to tackle the flamethrower scene without any tears and “everyone was super careful, and it turned out to be an amazing experience.”
“Then I burned like a hundred people. I’m glad I practiced the day before, and I cried the day before. But it’s amazing to see what [the stunt performers] do — I can’t believe you guys put yourself through this. It’s unbelievable,” de Armas said, adding how she even had protection for her eyelashes and hair so they wouldn’t burn.
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Director Len Wiseman also spoke with EW about his amazement over the “intense” flamethrower scene.
“I had never actually shot a flamethrower in my life before,” Wiseman said. “It was just horrifying, actually lighting somebody on fire with a flamethrower, even though they’re acting. And it was a long sequence. It was very, very brutal.”
Ballerina takes place during the events of 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Keanu Reeves, who plays John Wick throughout the franchise, will make a cameo in the spinoff.
The cast also includes Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus and Ian McShane.
Ballerina arrives in theaters June 6.
