Ana de Armas learned English by watching ‘Friends’

During her Saturday Night Live hosting debut, Cuban actress Ana de Armas opened her monologue in Spanish, before switching over to English.

The actress revealed that she learned English by watching ‘Friends’, and taking acting classes in English, making humorous mistakes.

Learning English from ‘Friends’

“I was born in Cuba, came to America when I was 26, and I learned English the way everyone who comes to this country does: by watching ‘Friends’,” the actress said on air.

“Who would’ve thought that the best English tutor would be Chandler Bing? I mean, look at me now, could I be any better at English?” she said as the audience giggled. She then told the story of an acting class she took upon arriving in the United States, and how she learned what the phrase, ‘I beg your pardon’ means.

“Acting here was difficult at first because I didn’t always understand what I was saying. Then I met this guy who had a class called ‘How to Audition’ – which was definitely a scam,” she recalled.

“He had me read a scene and there was this line, ‘I beg your pardon’. But I had never seen or heard that phrase so I thought this character was literally begging. So when I did the line I said, ‘I beg your pardon, give it to me!’”

De Armas then went into the success she’s earned this year, including an Oscar nomination for ‘Blonde’, and how she will soon become a citizen of the United States.

She then shouted out Robert De Niro, whom she worked with in ‘Hands of Stone’. The actor was about to visit Cuba for vacation and asked for De Armas’ family number

Sometime after, De Armas said she received a phone call from her father, hysterical, saying that De Niro had visited him at work.

“That was such a kind gesture, and I have been so fortunate to work with so many wonderful actors,” De Armas said of the moment.

What’s next for De Armas?

De Armas will appear in the new movie ‘Ghosted’, with co-star Chris Evans, set to premiere on April 21 on Apple TV+.

She also just wrapped up filming for the John Wick spinoff ‘Ballerina’ in Prague, where she plays the main character, Rooney. The movie has a release date of June 7, 2024.