Rooney Mara to Star as Lisbeth Salandar in the ‘Girl With a Dragon Tattoo’ Films

Hollywood’s next up-and-coming starlet is a brown haired, blue eyed beauty from a sports dynasty—still wondering who we’re talking about? Rooney Mara is the not quiet-yet-famous beauty who just got cast in the highly anticipated three-picture adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Talk about an instant career, right?

Mara beat out other big-name, heavyweight contenders for the role, coming out above the likes of Kristin Stewart and Carey Mulligan. Fans of the book are in a frenzy, wondering if Mara will measure up to her character, Lisbeth Salander, a damaged and mysterious computer-hacking prodigy. But, according to the director of the young actress’ last project, Youth in Revolt’s Miguel Arteta, there is absolutely no reason to doubt her acting chops: ““She’s got that perfect combination of mystery and familiarity that it takes to make a movie star,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “The reason I cast her was because she had to be able to look at somebody and seduce them without a word. She has one of those gazes where you can see so much into what she’s thinking, without her saying anything.”

Mara comes from a family many sports fans would give an arm and a leg to be a part of—her maternal grandfather, Art Rooney (that’s where her unusual name comes from) founded the Philadelphia Steelers, and her paternal grandfather, Tim Mara, founded the Giants. And not only does the girl have some seriously legendary roots, she’s already a philanthropist. When her star was on the rise, Mara founded a Kenyan orphanage, moving children from the ravaged town of Kiberia to a suburb called Ngong. Her nonprofit organization, called Faces of Kiberia, is still running today.

Time will tell if fans of the Girl With a Dragon Tattoo franchise will approve of Mara’s performance, but we think its safe to say the petite brunette has got a beautiful career ahead of her.

Photo from Nehrams2020 via Wikimedia Commons