Ana De Armas is "lucky" she was allowed to leave Cuba to pursue a movie career

Speaking to the new issue of Porter magazine, she said: "I knew the limitations of the country. I told my parents that was going to happen. They've been so supportive, I was lucky. But it was me going into the unknown. I put myself in their shoes and realise now what they were thinking, and how terrifying it must have been."

Meanwhile, Ana previously confessed her first attempts at acting in English were a "disaster" after she found fame in TV show 'El Internado'.

She said: "I had to. I saw actors like Penelope [Cruz] and could tell how hard it was to act in English, because it's a different part of your brain. At first it was a disaster. No one understood me and I couldn't understand the context of what I was reading. I remember phrases like, 'I beg your pardon'. I had no clue what I was saying! But I knew emotionally what the scene was about."

And the 31-year-old actress admitted it was "tough" when she first moved to the US because she felt "lonely" and experienced a lot of professional rejection.

She said: "It was a good exercise for my ego. It was tough at first, as it can feel very lonely. Everything in Los Angeles happens in a house, so if you don't know anyone to invite you, it's hard to get anywhere. There was a period of frustration when in every audition I was told my English wasn't good enough.

"Some people even said, 'You could never compete with that', pointing to a blonde American actress. Then I realised the best thing I have is nobody is me. Why would you want to be someone else? You can't. They're taken!"