Bond girl Ana de Armas fled Cuba to become a movie star

close

Video

'Bond 25' casts Rami Malek as villain, Daniel Craig returns as 007

Oscar-winner Rami Malek will play the villain in the still-untitled 25th film in the James Bond franchise. He'll face off with James Bond vet Daniel Craig. This will be Craig’s fifth time playing the role of secret agent 007.

Ana de Armas, who stars in the upcoming "Bond 25," fled Communist Cuba to become a movie star.

De Armas, 31, who has Spanish grandparents, obtained a passport when she turned 18 and moved to Madrid with her life savings, which amounted to just about $170.

“I felt like I wanted more. I’ve always been very ambitious and I always knew I wanted something else," she told The Sun.  “Of course, I didn’t know that 200 euros was nothing, because in Cuba it was a lot. It was what I had been saving from work as an actress. I told my parents that I’d be back when the money ran out. Of course, that didn’t happen — my money ran out in a week and I didn’t go back. It was the best decision I ever made.”

DANIEL CRAIG RETURNS AS JAMES BOND, RAMI MALEK CONFIRMS VILLAIN ROLE IN 'BOND 25'

She explained, “I come from a modest family. We lived without luxuries, with the basics, just enough to eat every day and go to the beach some summers. Thanks to my parents’ honesty, I was always conscious of what we could and couldn’t have. My brother and I would go out into the street to play. We didn’t have phones or internet or even DVD players. Anything.”

FORMER BOND GIRL MADELINE SMITH SAYS NEXT 007 SHOULD BE FEMALE

Ana de Armas fled Cuba to become an actress in Spain. Since then, she's had a major breakthrough in mainstream Hollywood films and will appear as Paloma in the upcoming "Bond 25." (Getty)

JAMAICA RESORT CELEBRATES JAMES BOND FILMING WITH NEW PROMOTIONS

De Armas said one reason she left Cuba is that she knew if she stayed, she would have had to take a menial job to pay for her nationally-funded education.

“I had to weigh the value of having a degree in my hands or leaving at that moment in search of my future. I always pay attention to my intuition — so I left," she said. “I left to try my luck. It could have turned out for the good or for the bad. I was gambling everything, but it was a risk I needed to take. I had there, in front of my eyes, former students of the school, graduates who were not working or who didn’t have any money because they had to perform social service."

DID DANNY BOYLE WANT TO KILL JAMES BOND?

“I would turn on the television there and see nothing more than old reruns of soap operas or things produced by the [state broadcaster] Cuban Institute of Radio and Television that were of poor quality, due to the low budgets,” she said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

It was a smart move: de Armas became a star in Spain after getting cast in thriller "El Internado." Stateside, she's appeared in "Bladerunner 2049" and "War Dogs." She'll also star as Paloma in the upcoming "Bond 25."