Star Wars: Ahsoka Star Says Series Is “Most Physically Demanding Role” of Their Career

Rosario Dawson made her Star Wars debut as the beloved Ahsoka Tano during the second season of The Mandalorian back in 2020, and she just began production on her own spin-off series. The character originated in the animated series Clone Wars, and fans are eager to learn more about what she’s been up to since her former master, Anakin Skywalker, turned to the dark side. Dawson has teased that she wants to play the character indefinitely, but taking on the role also has its challenges. While speaking with Vanity Fair, the actor opened up about the role’s physical demands. 

“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. “[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.’”

Dawson previously spoke with StarWars.com and explained why she loves the character. 

“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.”

She continued. “I think as people grew with her and aged with her and the story, they grew themselves, and evolved. I think it gives complexity to good and bad and right and wrong in a way that we don’t always get to have story-wise. It’s just fantasy. And I think she represents something stronger than that, about will and determination and audacity and tenacity. She really has pushed herself and evolved in a way that I think her heroine story is one that is not easy to find in other spaces. It’s really cool to see her still out there on quests and having things teased about that world still being very much alive.”

The Ahsoka series does not yet have a premiere date, but it’s expected to debut next year.