Ana de Armas' Top 15 Movie Roles Ranked

Ana de Armas has carved out one of Hollywood’s most fascinating careers, seamlessly shifting from Spanish-language dramas to blockbuster thrillers and Oscar-nominated performances. She’s not just a pretty face on the red carpet — she’s proven herself as a fearless actor who dives deep into every role, whether she’s wielding a gun, breaking hearts, or stealing the scene from A-listers twice her fame.

Over the years, she’s built a filmography that’s as varied as it is impressive — from action-packed spy flicks to haunting biographical dramas. In this list, we’re ranking her 15 best performances, celebrating the movies that turned Ana de Armas into one of today’s most magnetic and unpredictable stars.

15. Overdrive (2017)

A slick but forgettable joyride, Overdrive rolls out fast cars, handsome scenery, and Ana de Armas in a supporting role that hints at what she could do even if the script doesn’t always let her. It’s one of those films you watch for the action and the tension of heists, rather than emotional depth. The movie leans heavily on style—sunset chases, luxury vehicles, tight escapes—but it never quite gets under the skin. Ana shows up with charisma, though she isn’t the main driver of plot, which keeps this lower in the ranking. Fans of car flicks will enjoy it; others might find it hollow once the engines cool. Even so, it served as a stepping stone for de Armas before her more challenging turns.

14. Eden (2024)

Set against mesmerizing natural beauty and tension, Eden places Ana de Armas in a survival thriller that teeters between utopia and catastrophe. While the film has gripping moments—especially when human relationships fray under pressure—it never fully sheds the feeling that grand visuals sometimes overshadow character work. De Armas brings her signature presence, though some supporting performances and the pacing keep this from being top tier. It’s ambitious and often effective, but you’re left wishing for more thematic risk or deeper moral complexity. Still, it demonstrates she’s willing to take bigger swings in her career.

13. Wasp Network (2019)

Spying, betrayal, political intrigue—the stuff of Wasp Network is potent, and the film delivers on mood more often than on clarity. Ana de Armas shares strong ensemble scenes, though with such a cast and dense material, some characters get lost in the web. The story of Cuban spies and their tangled loyalties offers her chances to tap into moral ambiguity, but the film’s pacing and narrative scope sometimes spread too thin. It doesn’t outshine her more intimate performances, yet it proves she can hold her own even in sprawling geopolitical dramas. Worth seeing for its atmosphere and ambition rather than flawless execution.

12. Knock Knock (2015)

This one is weird, in the best and worst ways. Knock Knock trades subtlety for shock and provocation, and Ana de Armas is part of the twisted duo that upends a quiet family man’s world. The film has moments that feel almost cartoonishly malevolent, as if the horror is dialed up just for reaction. De Armas’ performance is memorable mostly because she leans fully into chaos, even when the writing doesn’t quite justify it. It’s not her finest hour, but it shows she can elevate questionable material through commitment and presence. If you like horror-thrillers that aren’t afraid to lean into discomfort, this one will hit some marks.

11. Exposed (2016)

This is probably one of her more polarizing choices—Exposed tries to juggle supernatural elements, gritty crime, and psychological drama, and not all the balls stay in the air. Ana de Armas plays Isabel De La Cruz, a character who’s caught between trauma, mystery, and being the emotional anchor of a chaotic plot. The film’s ambitions are big, but plot holes and tonal shifts dull the impact. Still, her work brings sincerity to scenes that could have been easily melodramatic. Some dialogues feel heavy-handed; others surprise by sparking unease. Though not her best, it’s important in her filmography because it pushed her into darker, more exposed (pun maybe intended) acting territory.

10. The Night Clerk (2020)

An attempt at a moody thriller that only occasionally sticks its landing, The Night Clerk casts Ana de Armas as Andrea, the mysterious guest in a hotel embroiled in a murder investigation. The film’s biggest strength may be atmosphere: dim corridors, voyeurism, and moral ambiguity combine to make you squirm—and sometimes yawn. De Armas doesn’t have the lead role, but she elevates what could have been a generic plot through sheer screen presence. The narrative wants to provoke, to unsettle, yet its twists feel half-hearted and its pacing uneven. Critics often point out that the movie is one she’s “too good for,” meaning her talent outshines the material. Still, for fans of her work, it’s interesting to see her play someone caught between empathy and danger.

9. Hands of Stone (2016)

Sport biopics tend to demand authenticity and grit, and Hands of Stone delivers both, though not always with dramatic elegance. Ana de Armas plays Felicidad Iglesias, offering quiet moments of humanity in a film otherwise focused on boxing legend Roberto Durán and his tumultuous career. The fight scenes and Montages are serviceable, but sometimes the emotional stakes feel rushed. De Armas’ performance gives the supporting arc dignity, even when surrounding dialogue lapses into cliché. For her, the film is a showcase of ability without overshadowing the leads, which is a tougher balance than it sounds. It’s nowhere near her best, but you leave impressed enough to want more subtle, character-driven roles.

8. War Dogs (2016)

Greedy contracts, shady deals, and the arms trade gone weird: War Dogs leans into its absurdity, and Ana de Armas gets to swim in that chaotic water. She isn’t the center, but her scenes add spark to a movie that sometimes struggles under the weight of too many tones—satire, drama, greed, loss. Some sequences zing (the over-the-top money, the ethical slippage), others land flat. De Armas holds her own, especially in quieter moments, and shows why she can do more than glamour. It’s a fun ride but often built more for spectacle than introspection. You finish it thinking: good cast, decent laughs, a few themes that barely get scratched.

7. The Gray Man (2022)

Everything about The Gray Man screams “big budget, big action, big expectations,” and sometimes it delivers, sometimes it doesn’t. De Armas plays a by-the-book CIA agent in a glitzy, globe-trotting spy thriller, surrounded by car chases, explosions, betrayals—and also clichés. Her part isn’t always the deepest, but she brings a level of polish and earnestness to what might otherwise feel like a generic blockbuster. The film enjoys being large and loud; it struggles being emotionally memorable. Still, watching her share screen space with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans shows how far she’s climbed, even if the script doesn’t always give her room to breathe. For viewers who love action-spectacle more than subtlety, this hits.

6. Deep Water (2022)

Does “erotic thriller” still mean what movies like Fatal Attraction made it mean? Deep Water tries, but often feels more awkward than seductive. Ana de Armas plays Melinda Van Allen, married to Ben Affleck's Vic, in a story about infidelity, jealousy, and menace—but the menace is muted, and the erotic tension underdelivered. Still, de Armas works hard: she oscillates between wounded pride, brittle control, and flickers of something darker. The film looks good, the production values are high, yet so many moments are squandered by predictability and weak dialogue. It’s entertaining in fits, frustrating in many places, and ultimately more interesting for what it attempts than what it achieves.

5. Blonde (2022)

Playing Marilyn Monroe in Blonde is a bold, weighty choice, and Ana de Armas goes deepest here—even when the movie wobbles between reverence and excess. The film leans into beauty and tragic glamour, but at times it feels more like an art piece about image than a human portrait. Her performance is luminous: she captures the vulnerability, the longing, the internal collapse under spotlight, even if the script sometimes substitutes shock for insight. It’s polarizing, yes — some see it as masterful; others find it exploitative. Still, it counts because de Armas doesn’t shy from difficulty or discomfort. While this role isn’t perfect, it's one she’ll be talking about for a long time.

4. No Time to Die (2021)

She enters the James Bond universe here with grace and emotional stakes: No Time to Die gives Ana de Armas a chance to be more than the “Bond girl”—her character has depth, doubts, and consequences. The film rides high on action, spectacle, and old-school spy tropes, but also invests in quieter moments of loss, loyalty, betrayal. She holds her own among veterans and large set-pieces, and the movie allows her to show shades of strength beneath vulnerability. Not always given room to breathe, but she makes what she has count. It’s not her defining role, but this one proves she can flourish in blockbusters without being swallowed by them.

3. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

In this visually striking sci-fi sequel, de Armas plays Joi, an artificial intelligence companion, and somehow manages to make something that is, in many ways, intangible feel deeply real. The film is gorgeous—rain, neon light, future decay—but also cold, distancing by design, which makes her moments human feel like small rebellions. It's not a massive amount of screen time, but what she gives with it matters: a softness, longing, and moral ambiguity. The movie is vast, philosophical, slow at times, and expensive; her role is like a glimmer in that wide canvas. For everyone who loves as much as they think, her presence in Blade Runner 2049 is proof she can hold emotional weight even in the slickest sci-fi.

2. Ballerina (2025)

Stepping fully into action territory, Ballerina gives Ana de Armas a leading role that combines elegance, tragedy, and cold precision. Her Eve Macarro is trained in beauty and brutality, a ballerina-assassin whose vengeance is personal and whose method is disciplined. The John Wick-verse backdrop provides expectation of gunplay and flair, but this spin-off also tries to dive into her past, her losses, her motivations—not just the carnage. Some scenes work better than others; some fights feel elevated, others derivative. Still, this role is a statement: she’s not just ornament in action cinema anymore. Ballerina may not be flawless, but it’s one of her boldest, most visible turns.

1. Knives Out (2019)

This spot goes to a role where Ana de Armas truly sparkles—not by shouting, exploding, or killing, but by being sly, witty, warm, and sharp. As Marta Cabrera in Knives Out, she provides emotional core, comedic timing, and a moral compass in a delicious puzzle of family secrets and murder. The script gives her weight, dignity, and an arc that earns every small moment; the audience roots for her because she’s vulnerable, honest, and clever. It’s a non-blockbuster role in scale, but huge in impact. Knives Out lets her be fully herself, and that’s why it wins. Not perfect, but the most balanced, the most charming, and the one that sticks.