Shootout

Rosario Dawson

With numerous films already to her credit, including female leading roles with today's hottest film actors and directors, Rosario Dawson has emerged as one of Hollywood's most sought after leading ladies.

Dawson can currently be seen in Quentin Tarantino's horror project Grindhouse. The project is a joint venture consisting of two feature films, one directed by Tarantino and the other by Robert Rodriguez. The films feature an ensemble cast ranging from Kurt Russell to Stacey Ferguson. Grindhouse opened on April 6th with rave reviews. Dawson recently completed producing and starring in Descent for director Talia Lugacy. This will be Dawson's first self produced film, which was accepted into the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

Dawson will next be seen in the John Madden directed, Killshot alongside Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane and Johnny Knoxville. Based on the best-selling crime novel about a couple who enters the Witness Protection Program, but still find themselves targets of two hit men.

Dawson will also be teaming up again with directors Frank Miller and Robert Rodgriguez to reprise her role as Gail in the highly anticipated sequel Sin City 2. Dawson will be joined by her former co-stars Clive Owen, Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba. Dawson was last seen in Kevin Smith's Clerks 2 for the Weinstein Company in which she earned much critical acclaim for her portrayal of 'Becky'.

In 2005, Dawson was seen in the starring role of 'Mimi Valdez' in the film adaptation of famed Broadway play Rent. Dawson shone in the Chris Columbus directed version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Jonathan Larson musical, joining many of the original cast members including Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Jesse Martin, and Taye Diggs. The film was produced by Michael Barnathan, Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro, and was distributed by Revolution Studios under the SONY umbrella. Rent received enormous acclaim from both critics and industry peers alike.

Dawson made a huge impact starring in the 2005 Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller film noir drama Sin City. She played the role of 'Gail' in the third and final installment of the film based on Miller's graphic novel series, which also stars Bruce Willis, Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, and Brittany Murphy. This Miramax/Dimension film opened #1 at the box office and was in dramatic competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

Dawson also starred in the Oliver Stone epic Alexander for Warner Brother's pictures. She rounded out an all-star cast playing opposite Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, and Jared Leto. Dawson played the roll of 'Roxanne,' wife of Alexander The Great (Farrell).

Dawson was also seen co-starring with The Rock, Sean William Scott and Christopher Walken in Universal's action/comedy The Rundown. She played a Brazilian rebel leader, leading the fight for her enslaved people in order to get the money and the basic living essentials that they deserve. The Rundown was the #1 movie in its opening weekend, and went on to be the #1 selling DVD and video rental in the nation.

Dawson co-starred in the Lions Gate drama Shattered Glass with Hayden Christensen, Chloe Sevigny and Steve Zahn. The film has received considerable critical acclaim and was an award show contender in 2004. She also appeared this year in the indie film This Girl's Life, which has been making its run in the festivals this year.

Dawson shone on-screen starring in the acclaimed Spike Lee film, The 25th Hour, opposite Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper. She had recently starred opposite Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Columbia Pictures', Men In Black 2 and in The Adventures of Pluto Nash, a futuristic action/comedy, starring opposite Eddie Murphy. She also starred in Lions Gate's Chelsea Walls, for director Ethan Hawke, which was based on the play of the same name.

Dawson's credits include the Paramount Classic's Side Walks of New York, a romantic comedy, written, directed, and starring Ed Burns as well as Heather Graham, Stanley Tucci and Brittany Murphy. She also appears in the The first $20 Million is Always the Hardest, written by Jon Favreau and directed by Mick Jackson. The film, starring Adam Garcia, centers around four misfit Silicone Valley inventors who design the computer of the future only to the idea stolen by another inventor. Dawson plays Alissa, an art major and Adam Garcia's love interest. She will also appear in Ed Burn's next film Ash Wednesday, along with Ed Burns and Elijah Wood.

She can also be seen in the independent film Love in the Time of Money, written and directed by theater director Peter Marrei, which premiered with high acclaim at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. The dark comedy chronicles the lives of nine New Yorkers connected through searches for love and sex in the city. The film also stars Steve Buscemi, Carol Kane, Michael Imperioli and Adrian Grenier.

Dawson produced a 15-minute short film entitled Bliss Virus, written and directed by Talia Lugacy. Additionally, Dawson hopes to produce Lugacy's first feature sometime in the near future.

Dawson made her film debut in the highly acclaimed and controversial hit KIDS. Directed by photographer Larry Clark, with a script by Harmony Korine, KIDS depicted 24 hours in the life if a group of New York Skaters and the havoc that runs through it. The film features a group of kids actually pulled from the streets in New York, as opposed to professional actors. With a surprise midnight screening at the Sundance and a spot in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, her film career was well underway.

Dawson's other film credits include: Spike Lee's He Got Game opposite Denzel Washington; Light it Up, opposite Forrest Whitaker and Vanessa Williams; Down to You with Freddie Prinze Jr.; and, Josie and the Pussycats, with Rachel Leigh Cook and Tara Reid. Dawson currently resides in Los Angeles.