Come on: Rooney Mara is Lisbeth Salander, or as close to the "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" hacker as anyone born outside of Scandinavia could possibly be. We didn't need to see the latest, longest "Tattoo" trailer to be convinced the previously under-the-radar actress had transformed herself from a girl-next-door type to a worthy big-screen heir not only to the badass in Stieg Larsson's novel but to Noomi Rapace, who played Salander in the Swedish trilogy. We were sold after the first eye-popping photos of Mara in character appeared in January.
Co-star Daniel Craig needed little convincing, as well, even though Mara was reportedly competing for the role with some of the biggest names in Hollywood — everyone from Natalie Portman to Kristen Stewart.
"I think I knew pretty early on. I screen-tested with her a couple times and I saw exactly what [director] David [Fincher] was after with her," Craig told us. "If you read the books, she's just spot-on. Rooney herself is actually really rounded and normal — she's not boring, honestly — but she had to bring this very broken human being to life and she did it brilliantly."
We were chatting with Craig as he promoted "The Adventures of Tintin," Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's motion-capture adaptation of the classic French-language comic book series. While the actor spoke glowingly of the film, and previously raved to us about collaborating with Fincher on "Dragon Tattoo,", he confessed to having zero interest in reuniting with Fincher on his next effort, an adaptation of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," which will reportedly rely heavily on mo-cap technology.
"He's got all sorts of things lined up, and I do not want to be on that production," Craig said. "I will go and visit them. It would be a great film to watch."