Rosario Dawson

You’ve seen Rosario Dawson in plenty of movies and on a number of TV shows. You’ve seen her in features such as The Zookeeper, Seven Pounds, Eagle Eye, and Zombieland: Double Tap. You’ve seen her in TV series like Daredevil, Luke Cage, The Defenders, Jane the Virgin, and Briarpatch. It’s been quite the run for the actress.

Since the mid-2010s she has spent much time loaning out her voice to various animated movies which include Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, The Death and Return of Superman, and Wonder Woman: Bloodlines as well as a few video games. But those movies do not represent her best work.

Before you decide you’ve seen all that matters from Rosario Dawson, make sure you’ve watched all of these entries. These are Rosario Dawson’s must-see movies and TV shows.

Rosario Dawson’s Best Movies

ROSARIO DAWSON IN SHATTERED GLASS (2003)

The first of Rosario Dawson’s must-see movies and TV shows is a feature called Shattered Glass. She doesn’t play a big role in the movie but she plays a character who helps bring down Stephen Glass, the reporter for The New Republic who, it was discovered, fraudulently published stories.

When all was said and uncovered, 27 of the 41 stories written by Glass for The New Republic were proven to be partially or completely made up.

Glass was played by Hayden Christensen. Dawson’s role as Andy Fox was loosely based on true-life reporter Om Malik, who wrote for Forbes and later Business 2.0.

ROSARIO DAWSON IN THE WATER MAN (2020)

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Disney may soon come to regret backing away from this Rosario Dawson movie. The Water Man is a 2020 film that Disney initially intended on distributing but for reasons unknown decided not to. It is a family film based on a 2015 Black List script by Emma Needell that is directed (his first time behind the camera) by David Oyelowo who also stars in the movie.

The Water Man tells of a young boy, Gunner (Lonnie Chavis) who often escapes to the world of fantasy, his way of dealing with his strict father (Oyelowo), and his gravely ill mother, here played by Rosario Dawson.

The film turns into an adventure flick almost too quickly as Gunner decides to venture into the forest to find the Water Man, a mythical figure which is supposed to hold the key to immortality. Gunner needs to find this figure to save his mother.

Give the movie a look and you will know why it is high on Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list.

DEATH PROOF IN GRINDHOUSE (2007)

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Grindhouse was a pulpy, violent, tribute to 70s exploitation films. This one is really two separate movies, released as a double feature by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Rosario Dawson co-stars in Tarantino’s movie, a film called Death Proof. It’s a slasher film that also stars Kurt Russell as serial killer Stuntman Mike.

Rosario Dawson is Abernathy Ross, one of the three women who Stuntman Mike marks for death. Mike drives around in a muscle car he says is “death proof”. It is, but only for the driver. He convinces women to get in his car and proceeds to kill them in staged car accidents.

He makes the mistake of going after Dawson and her two friends Kim Mathis (Tracy Thoms) and Lee Montgomery (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as well as real-life stuntwoman Zoë Bell, who plays herself.

Death Proof is a movie that is a true nod to the 70s in every way, shape, and form and definitely one of the better ones on Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list. Earlier we said that the movie could be released as two, and it was. Grindhouse was both Death Proof and Planet Terror, then Death Proof was released in a longer cut (27 minutes worth) a few months later.

AS GAIL IN SIN CITY (2005)

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Another ensemble movie that fits nicely as one of the best films on Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list. This one actually came before Grindhouse and has Rosario Dawson playing a character that is one part of the larger whole. She plays the leader of prostitutes, Gail, in The Big Fat Kill storyline.

Sin City is based on Frank Miller’s graphic novels and Big Fat Kill follows a private investigator Dwight McCarthy (Clive Owen) as he gets caught between his girlfriend’s ex and his cronies, a group of prostitutes, the police, and the mob. It’s a bloody battle of severed heads, double-crosses, and explosions that Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez do so well.

ROSARIO DAWSON IN UNSTOPPABLE (2010)

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If suspense is what you like, then this highly-rated feature on Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list is for you. Unstoppable is loosely based on the true story of the runaway freight train incident CSX 8888.

A simple mistake leads to the freight train running unmanned as it picks up speed, with eight of its 39 cars carrying the highly toxic and flammable molten phenol, which would be a major disaster if the train was to derail in a populated area.

Rosario Dawson stars in the movie as yardmaster Connie Hooper, who is in charge of trying to somehow slow the train before disaster strikes. The movie also stars Denzel Washington as a veteran engineer and Chris Pine as a new conductor who both use their skills to help avoid a major disaster.

This Rosario Dawson movie is notable in that it was Tony Scott’s (Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II) last work he directed before he committed suicide by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles, CA.

ROSARIO DAWSON IN 25^TH HOUR (2002)

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In 25th Hour Rosario Dawson stars as Naturelle Riviera, girlfriend to Edward Norton’s Monty Brogan, in this Spike Lee crime drama that is another highly-rated film on Dawson’s movies and TV shows list. The film centers on Brogan, who is about to go to prison for seven years for dealing drugs.

The story is told in flashbacks as Brogan drives around the city with his two best friends and girlfriend, showing how Brogan got to where he is, and his relationship with those around him. The movie also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, and Anna Paquin.

ROSARIO DAWSON IN HE GOT GAME (1998)

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One of the first films on Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list has her playing Lala Bonilla, girlfriend to Ray Allen’s Jesus Shuttleworth, a star high school basketball player. He Got Game marks the first time Dawson shared the screen with Denzel Washington, as he plays Allen’s convicted felon father Jake, who is serving time in Attica for accidentally killing Jesus’ mother.

The movie shows, via flashback, how an argument between father and son resulted in Jesus’ mother intervening and accidentally being killed by Jake. Dawson plays Allen’s girlfriend with seductive glee as she has eyes on the big prize, finding Jesus a big-time, super-rich sports agent.

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS (2006)

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If you are prone to motion sickness, you may want to down a Dramamine or two before taking on this film. If you can get past the shaky camera, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is ultimately a good film on Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list. It tells the story of author, director, and musician Dito Montiel, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints tells about his youth in Astoria, New York in the 80s. The movie stars Robert Downey Jr. as an older Dito with Shia LaBeouf playing the younger version. Rosario Dawson plays Laurie, Dito’s childhood sweetheart.

As for the real Dito, his sole purpose for the movie was because “I wanted to walk down those streets and fall in love with Laurie again.” In reality, Dito’s Laurie was white and had passed away from AIDS two years prior to making the movie. The movie bounces back from the present-day to Dito’s youth as he tried to make sense of his life.

OTHER ROSARIO DAWSON MOVIES

Those are just a few of the top films on Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list. There are others such as Clerks II and Clerks III, The Rundown playing opposite Dwayne Johnson, Sean William Scott, and Christopher Walken, Zombieland: Double Tap.

And if you are into the very silly (some may say “stupid”), Rosario Dawson also starred in The Zookeeper with Kevin James. That is a solid movie list to get you started, so now let’s take a look at some of the TV shows Rosario Dawson has been a part of.

ROSARIO DAWSON’S TV SHOWS

GEMINI DIVISON WAS A ROSARIO DAWSON TV SHOW

Prior to 2015, Rosario Dawson was much more a movie actress than a television one. Her biggest claim to fame at that time was a 2008 web series called Gemini Division, a series that consisted of episodes that ran for 5-7 minutes long.

Dawson played a cop who was deep undercover and forced to live dual lives because of it. The series ran for one season with a total of 50 episodes.

SHE WAS IN NETFLIX’S DEFENDERS SAGA FOR MARVEL

Rosario Dawson’s first major leap onto television came in 2015 when she joined the MCU. She went all-in adding to her movies and TV show list, first by joining Daredevil as Claire Temple, a character she would portray throughout her time in the MCU. That same year, Dawson was in an episode of Jessica Jones. She joined the cast of Luke Cage in 2016 and the following year she showed up in both Iron Fist and The Defenders.

JANE THE VIRGIN

After her venture into the MCU, Rosario Dawson added to her movies and TV shows list by joining the fourth season of Jane the Virgin. It was a 17-episode run in which she played Jane Ramos, attorney and eventual love interest to Petra Solano (Yael Grobglas).

BRIARPATCH

Her next big television role came in 2020 when she appeared as the lead in Briarpatch. The 10-episode series starred Dawson as Allegra Dill, an investigator who returns home to investigate her detective sister’s death in a car bombing.

ROSARIO DAWSON JOINS THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE

That same year and for the first time, Rosario Dawson joined another tentpole franchise – Star Wars – when she appeared as Ahsoka Tano on an episode of The Mandalorian.

This led her to a return performance as Ahsoka, and another addition to Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list, on The Book of Boba Fett. The popularity of the character has led to Dawson bringing it to Disney+ for her own series, Ahsoka.

In Ahsoka, Rosario Dawson is joined by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ray Stevenson (Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Black Sails), Ivanna Sakhno, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who is playing Sabine Wren.

But the big news came when it was announced that Hayden Christensen will also be appearing as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. The current plan is for Ahsoka to hit Disney+ sometime this late summer and once we have a firm date, we will be sure to pass it along.

ROSARIO DAWSON HAS OTHER MOVIES AND TV SHOWS LINED UP

Before Ahsoka hits the airwaves, Dawson has also added two new projects to her movies and TV shows list. The first was the miniseries Dopesick in which she starred with Michael Keaton, Kaitlyn Deaver, Will Poulter, and Peter Sarsgard and told the tragic story of the opioid addiction taking over the U.S. The second one was another miniseries called DMZ.

Here, Dawson starred as Alma “Zee” Ortega, a mother and NY medic who is trying to find her son who wandered off during the evacuation of Manhattan during the Second American Civil War.

Besides the upcoming Ahsoka, Rosario Dawson’s movies and TV shows list will have another highly anticipated addition. This one is another Disney production, the remake/reboot of Haunted Mansion.

Unlike the 2003 Eddie Murphy comedy of the same name, this one boasts a huge and impressive cast that includes Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto. Haunted Mansion will hit theaters on July 28, 2023.

The GIANT FREAKIN MOVIE SCORE is calculated using rating averages from Rotten Tomatoes and the Internet Movie Database.