‘The Gray Man‘ stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in lead roles where the former plays ex-CIA asset Sierra Six, while the latter plays a sociopathic private contractor Lloyd Hansen. However, in a movie mostly dominated by male action sequences, and central figures, Ana de Armas carves out her own space as Dani Miranda, the CIA agent who partners with Six. 

She’s first seen during the mission in Bangkok and provides vital support to Six by taking out a bad guy with some skilled combat moves. 

The 34-year-old actor got her Hollywood break in Eli Roth’s horror ‘Knock! Knock!’, in which Ana de Armas starred opposite Keanu Reeves. Since then, she’s built a remarkable career for herself and been praised for her acting chops. Ana de Armas’ next anticipated release ‘Blonde‘ sees the actor as Marilyn Monroe, and will be a Netflix release as well. 

While Ana de Armas has shown that she’s capable of playing various roles, from Joi the holographic AI in ‘Blade Runner 2049‘ to Marta Cabrera, the observant nurse, in ‘Knives Out’, she’s also found a niche in action movies. 

In 2021, de Armas was seen as the Bond girl, Paloma, in Daniel Craig’s ‘No Time to Die’. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga wrote the character of the Cuban agent with the actor in mind. Paloma comes off as an agent who can’t handle herself in the field but becomes integral in helping 007 in his mission. 

Ana de Armas trained for the role, and a fan account shared footage of the actor practising taking down bad guys in the movie. 

The actor’s commitment to her part echoes Miranda’s commitment to her career in ‘The Gray Man’. In the Russo brothers’ directed movie, de Armas’ Miranda is a woman focused on her career and decides to track down Six just to clear her name. 

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Miranda shows her smarts getting the better of Six once she does find him, and is also professional, as evidenced by her calling out the shady CIA agent Denny Carmichael, saying his comments amount to “harassment” and later telling him not to invade her personal space. 

Ana de Armas, in all of this, manages to pull off some slick action sequences, right from the beginning to the final fight where Six and Miranda take on Hansen in his stronghold. 

The above clip shows de Armas training for the scene which turned out to be her character’s first fight in the film. In the final fight, Miranda carried a grenade launcher and other heavy weaponry to cause a distraction, allowing Six to carry out a rescue operation. 

The clip above shows how vigorously de Armas trained for the role, and in the movie, Miranda carries a similar attitude as she asserts herself with her partner, Six. The CIA agent calls him out for handing her an empty gun and before they mount the attack, she confidently claims the bigger gun for herself. 

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Miranda even offers to finish off Hansen, after she gets a clear line of sight on the target. Ever true to the part, de Armas also trained with a similar gun. 

Miranda is finally exonerated of the incidents that unfurl in ‘The Gray Man’, but before departing, de Armas’ character reminds Carmichael of who’s the boss, when she tells him that if anything happens to Claire Fitzroy, the girl under Six’s protection, her deal to remain silent about Carmichael’s involvement in shady CIA operations would be off. 

‘The Gray Man’ shows how the world of spycraft has been dominated by male figures, but in Ana de Armas’ Dani Miranda is a spunky female willing to take on the status quo.