Edgar Ramirez And Ana de Armas On ‘Hands of Stone’ Biopic [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]

Edgar Ramirez and Ana de Armas costar in Jonathan Jakubowicz‘s Hands of Stone, a biopic about Panamanian boxing legend Roberto Duran.

Hands Of Stone Exclusive Video

In Hands of Stone, Ramirez plays Duran, while Armas plays his wife, Felicidad Iglesias. The film follows Duran’s rise from the streets of Panama to winning the welterweight title in 1980, beating fellow legend Sugar Ray Leonard, played in Hands of Stone by Usher.  In a rematch against Leonard in November 1980, Duran memorably forfeited his welterweight title, reportedly saying, “No mas” halfway through the eighth round, knowing that he was likely to lose. Duran recovered from the loss and continued to be a force in the ring until his retirement in 2002 at the age of 50.

While working on Hands of Stone, Ramirez and Armas were fortunate enough to get to know Duran and Iglesias, who helped them get into their roles.

“They just opened their doors and lives and secrets and very intimate stories and that’s the best you can ask for when you’re doing a portrayal of someone who’s still alive,” Armas explained in an exclusive interview with uInterview. “That they give you everything they have, that’s all you can ask for. So, more than the advice, I think it was just the support and the love that is used playing me.”

Ramirez added, “[Ana] would cook with Felicidad and we would sit down and eat and just share time with them and with the family. That’s how we were picking up all these layers, all these traits and little details to build the characters.”

Ramirez also had a lot of work to do when it came to the boxing aspect of getting into character. According to Armas, “He didn’t even know how to punch a bag,” but Ramirez doggedly trained to get that part of playing the revered athlete right, which his costar admired. “Just to see his transformation and his becoming not just a boxer but Durån, we were so lucky,” Armas explained. “He just got the moves, he got the energy, he got the spirit and he was beautiful. We were walking down the street and everyone was pointing at him, ‘That was exactly what Durån looked like! He’s the Cholo!’”

One of the through lines in Hands of Stone is Duran’s relationship with Iglesias, his childhood sweetheart who remains at his side to this day.

“They’ve been together for over 40 years. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks and he was basically somehow educated by his wife,” Ramirez explained. “I mean, Felicidad taught him how to behave in society and how to be sensitive, and when he lost everything she was the only one who stood by him.”

Hands of Stone is currently in theaters.