Let's just say Ana de Armas needed to get into the spirit of Marilyn Monroe.
In a chat with AnOther magazine, the actress said she actually visited Marilyn's grave to ask for permission to portray the movie star and pop culture icon in Netflix's "Blonde."
"We got this big card and everyone in the crew wrote a message to her," she said. "Then we went to the cemetery and put it on her grave. We were asking for permission in a way."
While the "Knives Out" actress didn't indicate whether the ghost of the "Some Like It Hot" star responded that day, she and the crew went through with the film.
"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?," Ana said.
Blonde, which reportedly got a rare NC-17 rating, has gotten rave reviews from those who've seen it — it received a standing ovation at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival. However, it was not an easy movie to make, especially since Ana felt a need to do right by Marilyn.
"Don't get me wrong, I had so much fun. I wasn't by any means in character for nine weeks, not between takes, not in my lunch break. I was Ana," she said. "But emotionally? The weight of it stayed with me for sure. There was no way to unplug because I'd get home and study for the next day and then Andrew was on the phone until midnight."
Marilyn even came to Ana in her dreams… somewhat.
"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," she 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."
Although Marilyn's been dead for 60 years, her image is still omnipresent in pop culture. More than that, her presence might have actually been on the set of "Blonde."
"I truly believe that she was very close to us. She was with us," Ana told reporters in Venice. "I think she was happy. She would also throw things off the wall sometimes and get mad if she didn't like something. Maybe this sounds very mystical, but it is true. We all felt it."