Rosario Dawson

"What would you say you take home from playing Ahsoka?"
"That the journey isn't always easy, that it isn't always clear, that this isn't about magic, you know? To make things how you want them to be, it takes work and diligence and love to really make the difference. And I believe everybody has those powers, and everybody has to continue trying. It's not like you become a Jedi and then that's it, you're good. They have to keep making that choice."

―An interviewer and Rosario Dawson^[2]

Rosario Isabel Dawson is an actress who portrays Ahsoka Tano in the Disney+ live-action TV series, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett and Star Wars: Ahsoka.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Rosario Dawson started acting at the age of 15 and decided to pursue acting the next year. Her grandma had Dawson attend Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute where she had the same class as future Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen, and later co-starred with him in the film Shattered Glass.^[2] She was a fan of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and she watched it with her daughter.^[3]

The Mandalorian[]

"I remember when I put the contacts on, that was when it really solidified — the headpiece, the tails, the shape, the coloring, everything. Doing the face marking, doing my skin, wearing the costume, all of that was absolutely incredible. But I still kind of felt like I was in cosplay. The second the contacts went in, it was Ahsoka. I felt like I disappeared."

―Rosario Dawson^[2]

In February, 2017, a Star Wars fan asked Dawson on Twitter if she would ever play Ahsoka Tano, and she replied that she would want to play the character. This caused Star Wars fans to be excited about Tano appearing in live-action. According to Dawson, someone at Lucasfilm forwarded the Tweet to Star Wars: The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni,^[3] and he thought she would make a good Tano.^[2] Filoni and Star Wars then followed Dawson on Twitter, but nothing happened for a long time.^[3] Filoni kept loosely aware of Dawson's Marvel career and he watched interviews of her expressing excitement for the role. Filoni later told^[2] executive producer^[3] Jon Favreau that he wanted Dawson to play Tano.^[2] When Dawson and Filoni discussed the show, he revisited Dawson's casting and realized Dawson's age would fit Tano's age in the show, and he decided the casting would work. Filoni and Favreau did not want to include Tano in Season One.^[3] Near the release of the first season, Dawson got a FaceTime call from Filoni and Favreau, and they showed her visuals and concept from their plans for Season Two. They also showed art of Dawson as Tano, but Dawson had to go to audio due to poor reception. Filoni and Favreau then asked Dawson if she wanted to play Tano and she agreed.^[2]

After being cast as Tano for the episode Chapter 13: The Jedi, Dawson watched The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and the Star Wars saga as preparation. She enjoyed seeing how Tano's physicality and voice changed as she evolved.^[3] Dawson studied Ashley Eckstein's portrayal of Tano in animation and tried her best to honor it. Many screen tests were done because the Volume tends to look magenta.^[2] Dawson played Tano like a wandering samurai and a knowledgeable knight. Filoni pointed to Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings as a touchpoint, with all of this factoring into Dawson's portrayal of the character. Dawson wanted to have Tano's playfulness and fun, including her cocky eyebrow. She liked Tano's wisdom and how she is grounded after everything she has gone through. Dawson enjoyed having homages to the different aspects of Tano that she loved. One of her most memorable moments was when she first tried on Tano's costume. Dawson wanted to be as authentic to the animated Tano as possible, and she insisted on wearing blue contacts to match the character's eye color.^[3]

The Mandalorian Season 2 Ahsoka Tano Poster — Ahsoka Tano character poster for *The Mandalorian*

All of the prosthetics were built to Dawson's skull and body, and Tano's headband clipped in the back and held the headtails in place.^[2] The make-up artists tucked Dawson's hair away so she could wear the headpiece.^[4] The total transformation initially took three hours.^[5] Dawson noticed that the horns and headtails were shorter than in the animated shows, but Filoni assured the actress it was necessary for stunts.^[4] Dawson thought the face markings, different skin color, and costume were incredible, but she did not feel like Tano until she put the contacts in.^[2] Dawson loved being able to provide new information about the Child and being a storytelling device for new fans.^[3] Dawson met^[2] Star Wars creator^[6] George Lucas when he visited The Mandalorian set.^[2] Before the release of The Jedi, Dawson was anxious about her performance and its reception.^[3]

The Book of Boba Fett[]

Dawson played Tano in "Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger," the sixth episode of The Book of Boba Fett.^[7] She did not learn that her character would interact with Luke Skywalker until the day of filming. She was very excited that she got to work with Mark Hamill,^[8] who provided Skywalker's voice in the episode.^[7]

Ahsoka television series[]

"Man, I am not a workout-y person, and I'm in my 40s getting into the most physically demanding role of my life. [Ahsoka's] not someone who gets tired. I can't play this like a human. She is an indefatigable alien. She's precise. She's master-level. The challenge is for me to show up and express that. It's like, I won't necessarily work out for myself, but I'll work out for Ahsoka any day of the week. I'm a huge fan, and I don't want to watch and be like, 'Yo, Ahsoka's hand seems a little shaky there.'"

―Rosario Dawson^[4]

Dawson continued to play Ahsoka Tano in the Star Wars: Ahsoka television series.^[9] Ahsoka started production on May 9, 2022,^[10] which Dawson thought was the best birthday present. Dawson rewatched the animated shows as preparation for reprising her role.^[11] She was grateful to be part of a franchise she can participate in as she ages. She cut most of her hair, leaving enough to be hidden comfortably under her headpiece.^[4] The makeup process had been reduced to an hour and a half while the total transformation would take about two hours, so it started at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning.^[5]

Dawson wanted to show how Tano does not get tired, so she dedicated herself to intense lightsaber and fight training as well as studying Tano's past.^[4] Dawson and Natasha Liu Bordizzo, the actress who played Sabine Wren, received wushu training from stunt coordinator Ming Qiu. Dawson showed Qiu freeze frames and clips from animated shows and asked Qiu to train her to do Tano's stunts. Qiu would say the stunts are not possible, but she showed Dawson what she could do instead.^[11] Dawson said that playing Tano in the show was the most physically demanding role of her life.^[4] She tried to show that Tano is struggling with balancing her humanity, experiences, and desires.^[5]

At Lucasfilm's Studio Showcase at Celebration Anaheim,^[12] Dawson was absent due to filming Ahsoka,^[13] so Filoni and Favreau played a video message from her in full costume from the show's set.^[12] Right after Ahsoka finished its third week of filming,^[13] Dawson attended the Mando+ panel^[14] where she introduced the droid Chopper and showed a clip of her in full costume and glimpses of Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren.^[13] It was then announced that Bordizzo would play Wren in the show.^[14] Dawson has said that she will be committed to her character until her story is fully told.^[4]

Work[]

Filmography[]

Year	Title	Series	Contribution(s)
2020	"Chapter 13: The Jedi"	Star Wars: The Mandalorian	Ahsoka Tano^[1]
2022	"Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger"	Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett	Ahsoka Tano^[7]
2023	"Part One: Master and Apprentice"	Star Wars: Ahsoka	Ahsoka Tano^[9]^[15]
2023	"Part Two: Toil and Trouble"	Ahsoka	Ahsoka Tano^[16]
2023	"Part Three: Time to Fly"	Ahsoka	Ahsoka Tano^[17]
2023	"Part Four: Fallen Jedi"	Ahsoka	Ahsoka Tano^[18]
2023	"Part Five: Shadow Warrior"	Ahsoka	Ahsoka Tano^[19]
2023	"Part Six: Far, Far Away"	Ahsoka	Ahsoka Tano^[20]
2023	"Part Seven: Dreams and Madness"	Ahsoka	Ahsoka Tano^[21]
2023	"Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord"	Ahsoka	Ahsoka Tano^[22]