Ana de Armas broke down in tears over ‘intense’ Ballerina flamethrower stunt

Ana de Armas has revealed that she broke down in tears while filming an ‘intense’ stunt for her new film, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.

The 37-year-old is leading the way in the action spin-off of Keanu Reeves’ iconic franchise, which hit the big screen today.

In the blockbuster, directed by Len Wiseman, she played Eve Macarro, an assassin trained by the Ruska Roma who is on her own journey of revenge over her dad’s murder.

Unpacking a brutal sequence in which her character used a flamethrower against some bad guys, the James Bond actress explained that she became emotional during the first time she rehearsed the stunt before the cameras started rolling.

‘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”,’ she told Entertainment Weekly.

‘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.

Ana de Armas broke down crying over this brutal scene in Ballerina (Picture: Lionsgate) She wielded a flamethrower in the tense scene (Picture: Lionsgate)

‘It was really emotional,’ Ana said of the ‘intense’ scene. ‘I’ve never seen anyone burning, even though it’s fake.

Thankfully, she was able to gather herself quickly, and continued on with the rehearsal.

‘Then I was fine,’ she laughed. ‘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 team] do – I can’t believe you guys put yourself through this. It’s unbelievable.’

‘The fire scene was risky, but we did it,’ she added. ‘It was all done the right way, and everyone was super careful, and it turned out to be an amazing experience.’

Ballerina is finally in cinemas now (Picture: Lionsgate) The movie claims a huge Rotten Tomatoes score (Picture: Lionsgate)

After years of waiting, Ballerina is finally in cinemas now and has been met with rave reviews from fans and critics alike – it currently commands a huge audience Rotten Tomatoes score of 93% compared to a critics ranking of 72%.

Many on the platform heaped praise on Ana’s efforts at leading the latest instalment of the franchise alongside Keanu’s John Wick.

Andreas Udland wrote: ‘Super entertaining. Not one dull or boring scene. Great world building. Ana gives one of her best performances.’

‘Ana it’s perfect choice for Ballerina,’ Ibrahim H wrote. ‘This movie is like John wick level, and there action just awesome. Recent pop culture time, it’s a great movie, not masterpiece.’

Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas posed with Ian McShane, Norman Reedus and Len Wiseman at the premiere (Picture: AP)

‘This movie really moves, it does not let up, this is an extension of the john wick universe. Ana carries this action flick, bring popcorn,’ Rick Masters agreed.

As Jaime Hernandez added: ‘Absolutely amazing! I love the John Wick Franchise and Ana de Armas absolutely killed it as Eva! She effortlessly fits so well into the franchise!

‘Dont miss out on seeing this on the big screen! [sic].’

Ballerina is in cinemas now.

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