Ana de Armas has addressed the NC-17 rating her upcoming film Blonde received in the US.

Directed by Andrew Dominik and based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde is described as a story which reimagines the life of Marilyn Monroe and “blurs the lines of fact and fiction”.

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Earlier this year, the Motion Picture Association gave the film a restrictive NC-17 rating, which recommends that no one under the age of 18 should see the project.

Speaking to L’officiel USA about the rating, de Armas, who plays Monroe, said: “I didn’t understand why that happened. I can tell you a number of shows or movies that are way more explicit with a lot more sexual content than Blonde.

“But to tell this story it is important to show all these moments in Marilyn’s life that made her end up the way that she did. It needed to be explained. Everyone [in the cast] knew we had to go to uncomfortable places. I wasn’t the only one.”

Speaking to Screendaily about the rating earlier this year, Dominik said: “It’s a demanding movie. If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the fucking audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.

“It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe, it’s kind of what you want, right? I want to go and see the NC-17 version of the Marilyn Monroe story.”

Along with de Armas, the film’s cast includes Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams.

A synopsis of the film reads: “Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, Blonde blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.”

Blonde is released on Netflix on September 23, 2022.