Star Wars: Ahsoka Star Rosario Dawson Credits Fan Art With Getting Her Role

Rosario Dawson is officially part of the Star Wars universe, primarily due to a fan campaign promoting the Defenders star as a potential candidate to play Ahsoka Tano in live-action. The actor has even gone to the length of attributing a viral piece of fanart from the always-incredible BossLogic in helping her land the role.

“It’s because of people like you,” Dawson said of her role while appearing at Star Wars Celebration this weekend. “They had actually drawn all these more images of me as the character which is mind-blowing. It’s just been such a thrill and honor to bring this character to life and to feel the energy of everyone wanting to see her come to life.”

BossLogic first released the fan art in 2017, and Dawson first appeared in live-action during the events of The Mandalorian Season Two in 2020. Prior to that, Ahsoka had only appeared within the Star Wars canon in the franchise’s numerous animated properties. After appearing in The Mando, Lucasfilm quickly rushed a spinoff series in development, which just started filming earlier this month.

According to Dawson, it’s the most demanding role of her career.

“Man, I am not a workout-y person, and I’m in my 40s getting into the most physically demanding role of my life,” Dawson explained to Vanity Fair earlier this month.

She added, “[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.’”

In a separate interview with StarWars.com, the actor expressed her thanks to the fans for their support in helping the character live beyond the animated series.

“I’m just really glad that [Ahsoka] lived, that we’ve been able to continue growing with her. I think that she’s so special,” Dawson shared. “So many of the wonderful, awesome Jedi that we love and have gotten their stories told, are male, and you saw them older. When you got to see Anakin grow up it made such a huge difference.”

The Star Wars: Ahsoka TV series is confirmed to premiere in 2023 alongside season three of The Mandalorian.