Chris Evans Reacts to Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde: “You’re Going to Win an Oscar”

Though best known to many audiences for playing Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Evans could very well add another title to his resume soon, fortune teller. Speaking in a new interview with Variety as part of profile of Blonde star Ana de Armas, Evans revealed his reaction to seeing her in the role of Marilyn Monroe for the upcoming film, predicting that she’ll take home an Academy Award for her work. The movie is already earning some controversial reviews but considering the talent in front of and behind the camera, plus Netflix’s tenacity for Oscar buzz, Evans may not be that far off

“I think this was one of the first opportunities she had to really sink her teeth into something incredibly demanding,” Evans, who starred in Knives Out and The Gray Man with de Armas, told the outlet. “I didn’t see one bit of fear; I saw excitement.” He went on to reveal his reaction from seeing de Armas’ initial camera test, revealing: “I remember looking at it and saying, ‘OK, that’s Marilyn … where’s your shot? That’s you? Holy sh-t! You’re going to win an Oscar for this!’”

With 108 reviews total, the upcoming movie is evenly split on Rotten Tomatoes with a 50% approval rating. As of this writing the critical consensus reads: “Blonde can be hard to watch as it teeters between commenting on exploitation and contributing to it, but Ana de Armas’ luminous performance makes it difficult to look away.” ComicBook.com’s Patrick Cavanaugh awarded it a 3 out of 5 rating, noting that it’s “Poised to be a breakout vehicle for de Armas,” calling her “riveting to watch.”

Blonde has been courting controversy long before its release however with the Netflix movie officially earning an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association, slapping their most severe rating on the film exclusively for “some sexual content.” To her credit, de Armas has already spoken out about not agreeing with this, telling THR: 

I didn’t understand why that happened. I can tell you a number of shows or movies that are way more explicit with a lot more sexual content than Blonde,” she explained. “But to tell this story it is important to show all these moments in Marilyn’s life that made her end up the way that she did. It needed to be explained. Everyone [in the cast] knew we had to go to uncomfortable places. I wasn’t the only one.”  

Blonde is now playing in limited release and will debut on Netflix at the end of September.