Rosario Dawson Explains Grueling Process To Become Ahsoka Tano
As it turns out, bringing a character from animation to live-action is a lot of work. Or, at least it is if you are playing a lightsaber-weilding Togruta warrior.
Ahead of next week’s premiere of the new Disney+ series , Dawson sat down (in an interview taped before the SAG-AFTRA strike) to discuss how hard it was to transform into the titular former Jedi.
Photo: Lucasfilm
According to Dawson, when she first played Ahsoka in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, the makeup process alone took upwards of three hours. Since that time, however, the process has been streamlined to a more manageable 90 minutes.
Photo: Star Wars
“We were very proud!” Dawson says. “We timed ourselves every single day. Depending on how much skin was showing, sometimes it would go up to two hours. And that’s tough: We were going in at 4 in the morning every day so that we could be ready when the crew is there at 6. We’d have a full day, and then it would still take at least half an hour to take it all off.”
A Team Effort
Despite the grueling procedure, the actress says she was fascinated by the process. Especially notable, was how the makeup team adapted and made tweaks over time.
Early on, for example, the crew noticed that certain shades of face paint looked different when Dawson was filming in natural sunlight or in front of artificial lights.
Happy #AhsokaTanoDay ! Thank you @Ashley_Eckstein for bringing Ashoka to life for us all. It’s one of the greatest honors & privileges of my life to share this remarkable character w/ the world alongside you. #DreamTeam @starwars @dave_filoni @Jon_Favreau #BrianSipe #SamanthaWard pic.twitter.com/9JThoyrm6q
— Rosario Dawson (@rosariodawson) January 30, 2021
“It was like, ‘Okay, I look really good in the light, but I’m neon now,'” she recalls with a laugh.
Technology is Improving
In addition to makeup, Dawson had to don Ahsoka’s iconic lekku (stripped head tails). Luckily, the actress notes, the prosthetic technology has improved dramatically, even in the time since she first joined the Star Wars universe.
Photo: Star Wars
“The montrals are longer,” she explains, referring to the short, horn-like appendages on top of Ahsoka’s head. “It’s all 3D-printed, and it moves completely differently. It’s lighter. That technology literally didn’t exist when we were first doing the character in Mando, so it’s been really cool to see how it keeps evolving.”
Fans will get a chance to see how Dawson and the show’s makeup team did when Ahsoka premieres on Disney+ on August 22.
Photo: Disney
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