GRACE UNDER FIRE

ANA DE ARMAS ADDS A FEMALE HEROINE TO THE JOHN WICK FRANCHISE IN BALLERINA. SHE JOINS HER CO-STARS, THE DIRECTOR AND MORE TO TALK ABOUT THE FILM. BY RACHAEL DAVIS

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ELEGANT, feminine, graceful, beautiful: the words commonly associated with ballerinas are not often shared to describe assassins - but that’s what makes Eve Macarro so formidable.

The heroine at the heart of Ballerina, the newest addition to the electrifying John Wick franchise, Eve - a ballerina-turned-assassin trained by the same skilled group as Keanu Reeves’ Wick - shows how fearsome and menacing a slight, strong young woman can be.

Portrayed by No Time to Die and Knives Out star Ana de Armas, Eve is the student of the Ruska Roma, a shadowy institution that uses its rigorous ballet training to hide its true purpose, to hone the skills of contract killers.

"Balance, coordination, flexibility, discipline, endurance (and) grace," 37-year-old Cuban-Spanish actress Ana says, are all key components of ballet training that are applied to being an expert assassin.

Her femininity is also a boon, she adds a trait that allows her to catch larger, burlier combatants on the back foot.

"I think it’s a moment of realisation, she understands that everything that she thought she was a disadvantage with [fighting a] big man, she could use it in her favour," says Ana.

"Everything was turned into something that they couldn't see coming. Being a woman, her size, being quicker than them, being smaller, it was actually a plus... (allowing her to take) control of the situation and make them play the game her way."