After appearing in the controversial
Rosario Dawson’s career has taken a rollercoaster ride.
Kaleem Aftab asks
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e\in Smith is predictably upbeat about
caxting l{o\;tt'io l)awxon as the manager
ol' liaxt l'ood rextaurant Moohy’s in ('lt-r/u H. ‘\\'e were kind ol~ neryous about bringing in a well-known actress to play Becky becath we worried how someone like that would lit into this worldf he says. 'But Roxario \\;t.\ just \o brilliant. it w as clear that \llc‘ would lit in \L‘;tllllL‘\.\l_\ . . . She lt;t\ a great liast ('oast ethox that helped inl'orm the character and you ney er think about her being Roxario. you think of her as Becky all the way.‘
This may he the type ot‘ hyperbole one \hottld e\pect to we in the pach of pre» production notex (w hich would normally be consigned to a recycling centre for bullshit by .Ii/It' 1.1M). The truth ix. though. that the ('ler/u director \umx tip the stand-out qualities of the Brooklyn horn actress in a l‘ew xentences and it is \imply more e\pedient to repeat them than come up with a \at'iation on the same theme.
l‘ye met l)awson a t'ew times. in London. Berlin and her natiy'e .\'ew York and as soon ax \he enters a room she wins you oy'er with her beaming smile and big. bright. rabbit-in-the- headlight eyes. It‘s little wonder that when he
38 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE it...) . '3
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wax looking l‘or an actress to win l)ante\ heart and persuade him to ditch lti\ liance tplayed by the tlit‘c‘c‘ltit",\ t'eal-lil‘e \pottxc .lcttttllic't‘ Schwallxich). Smith opted for the 27—year—old.
All the things that make Becky \o magical as a character no-nonsenxe attitude. dynamite tongue and eaxygoing nature apply to l)awxon. Hardly a minute will go by without l)awxon Hashing her million-dollar \mile or cracking a joke. l)e\pite her recent succexxlul pet'l'orttiances in 351/1 Hour. Sin (try and
‘SPIKE LEE SAVED MY CAREER TWICE'
Shattered (ilmy she wax \urprised by the otter ot a role in ('lt'r/ty II: ‘l‘ye itl\\1t_\\ wanted to work with Keyin. but I hay'en't done a lot ot comedy \o I didn‘t see it happening. I w ax really \hocked and e\cited when l w ax xent the script.‘ .-\ tew bellyaching lttllglh later and the promixe ol~ \eeing a real life 'donkey' \how la depray'ed \exual actl and the actress wax dying to put pen to paper and join the buys club at Smith\ View .-\\l\'C\\ Production»
l)awxon\ upbringing meant \he would alwayx he the girl l‘rom the other \idc ol the lludxon Riyer. She \ayx ol' where she grew up close In (.tlllL‘} l\lalid beach in the South ()l Brooklyn. '.\ly block. when l liixt liycd there. there “th one working \treet lamp. no car\. maybe one broken down yelticle where the lititttc‘le\\ UScd lt) deep and the crackheadx llSL‘tl to get high. Now. it‘s like Sl'\'\ and sunroolK and all this \tul'l'. I remember being on my root and watching 4 .luly lireworkx and I looked down and l was like. "What the l'uck'.’ What the hell happened to my neighbourhtiod‘.’ Yl'l’l’lliSl" And then 1 \ya\ like “Young l'rban l’rol‘exsionalx . . . l)ohl lt'x me: I’m ruining the neiglihourlimid that I grew up in. l‘ttllllllcw being plISllL‘Ll out and I'm young paying a higher rent then they can afford. Damn it?”
l)aw \on y\;t\ l5 and hanging out iii her ‘hood when her path into acting wax chosen l'or her. .»\ photographer named Larry (‘lark and hix young \creenwriting \idekick Harmony Korine axked the young girl it \he'd like to be in a moy'ie that he w ax about to make called Kit/x. But it \yax ('hloe Sey'igny that would receive the career boost from the notorious moy'ie.