The Cuban actor completely transformed into Marilyn Monroe for “Blonde,” bringing a new level of vulnerability to the Hollywood icon in the Andrew Dominik-directed film. De Armas told TODAY at the Los Angeles premiere held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Sept. 13, that she related to the woman in the story and was moved by the tragedies in the stars’ life.

“It was hard for me not to relate to the story of what was happening to her and to the woman in the story,” de Armas said on the red carpet. “It was hard not to identify with that and feel heartbroken and moved by it.

The more I learned about her, and when I say her, I mean Norma because I had this idea of (Marilyn)… I knew what we all know about Marilyn Monroe, the character,” she continued. “I just wanted to peel all the layers and find who was underneath that and what she went through. It was just so easy for me to see her trauma and her pain and understand what she was going through. So I guess I just really connected with them.”

The film is 14 years in the making, with the director and cast emphasizing that the drama is a fictionalized version of Monroe’s life, adapted from the 2000 novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates.

“The film didn’t really come to life until Ana appeared,” Dominik told TODAY. “Once she came into the picture, the whole thing, just really, it just gelled and made sense. So I think we were waiting for her in a way.”

“When you hear her talking about (her experience), she talks about it in a much more emotional, visceral, personal way because to her it was,” the director added.

The film’s NC-17 rating has been a topic of discussion, with de Armas previously telling L’Officiel that she “didn’t understand” the need for the rating.

The almost three-hour drama digs deep into Norma Jeane’s traumatic childhood and life in the spotlight. Her tumultuous and abusive relationships with two of her three husbands — baseball player Joe DiMaggio (Bobby Cannavale) and playwright Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody) — and rumored affair with John F. Kennedy (Caspar Phillipson) depicts a fragile woman in search of love and dealing with mental health issues.