Rooney Mara preps for stardom with Dragon Tattoo

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Rooney Mara preps for stardom with Dragon Tattoo

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Dragon Tattoo opens across the United States on Wednesday.

22 December,2011 11:01 am

When director David Fincher decided to make a film of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Hollywood was abuzz with who might play the starring role of abused, vengeance-seeking computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.Would it be an A-list actress like Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, or someone completely unknown to audiences?For Fincher, the Oscar nominated director of The Social Network, the answer was never clear cut. Little did he know that his eventual choice, Rooney Mara, was under his nose the whole time. Fincher had cast her as the girlfriend of Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg in Social Network.It is based on Swedish author Stieg Larssons first novel in his mega-popular Millennium Trilogy series, and Finchers film follows a Swedish movie version of the book.To some, it may seem that Mara had a Hollywood in to play the troubled Salander, who helps a disgraced investigative journalist (Daniel Craig) solve a case. However, the 26-year old actress told Reuters it was quite the opposite.I think he was happy with the work I did in Social Network, but because of that work, I think he thought I wasnt quite right for the part of Salander, she said.Her role in Social Network was that of a polished college girl, and she hadnt tackled any major starring roles in the movies. Moreover, her upbringing in a large and well-to-do family was far removed from Salanders dark and lonely life.