Rosario Dawson ‘Disappeared’ Into the Role of Ahsoka Tano By Adding Color Contacts
Over the years — and the course of Star Wars: The Clone Wars — Ahsoka Tano became a fan-favorite character. When The Mandalorian was announced, fans were excited to see her brought to life in a live-action format. Following a fan-led campaign, Rosario Dawson landed the part of Ahsoka Tano. And the actor explained how she “became” the character.
Rosario Dawson brought Ahsoka Tano to life in ‘The Mandalorian’
The Mandalorian dipped further into the Star Wars mythos with season 2. Following Ahsoka’s unresolved storyline in Star Wars: Rebels, the character made sense as an addition to the world explored in the Disney+ series. Though some fans rooted for voice actor Ashley Eckstein to appear as Ahsoka Tano, others fan-cast frequent fantasy star Rosario Dawson.
In addition to bearing an uncanny resemblance to the character, Dawson has a packed resume of “geeky” properties. From Marvel’s Daredevil to Men in Black II, Dawson’s experience catapulted her to the top choice.
When she expressed interest in playing the character, producer Dave Filoni took notice and set things in motion. Dawson said she was surprised when she received the call. “They’d just been visualizing me in this role that whole time, and it was mind-boggling,” she told Vanity Fair.
Rosario Dawson ‘disappeared’ into the role of Ahsoka Tano
For her role as Ahsoka Tano, Rosario Dawson had to undergo several changes, including having her face painted orange to coincide with the character. She also wore her traditional headpiece and tribal markings, though
One thing that helped Dawson become one with the character was contacts. In the Vanity Fair interview, Dawson and Filoni noted she wore colored contacts to achieve Ahsoka’s trademark blue eyes. Filoni said he didn’t want to force Dawson to wear contacts even though they were part of the character.
“I said, ‘Well, Ahsoka’s eyes are blue, and yours are not, but I don’t want you to worry about it. If you don’t want to go for that, we can just say that in this version, they’re not,'” he said. But the actor was very willing to try the contacts.
Dawson said that when she had the headpiece, the markings, and the prosthetic tails, she still felt like she was wearing a costume. However, when she wore the contacts, everything came together. “The second the contacts went in, it was Ahsoka. I felt like I disappeared.”
Rosario Dawson will star in her own limited series ‘Ahsoka’
Dawson debuted the character in live action in The Mandalorian Season 2 episode “Chapter 13: The Jedi.” In the episode, Ahsoka learns The Child’s name and origin. However, she is wary of training him, fearing he may follow Anakin’s path given the anger and fear he feels.
She also appeared in The Book of Boba Fett episode “Chapter 6: From The Desert Comes a Stranger.” Now, Dawson is set to star in her own limited series, titled Ahsoka. The show is scheduled for a 2023 release.
