10 Actors Who Received Super Specific Training For Movie Roles
8. Rooney Mara Learned Skateboarding To Imitate A Teenage Boy - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Many eyebrows were raised when Rooney Mara was cast to play goth hacker Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's 2011 re-adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Given that Mara was best known to audiences for playing Mark Zuckerberg's (Jesse Eisenberg) more demure ex Erica Albright in Fincher's The Social Network, many doubted her ability to play a part previously performed so brilliantly by Noomi Rapace in the Swedish original.
But of course, Mara gave herself over to an intense physical transformation rendering her near-unrecognisable, and per Fincher's exacting reputation, he insisted she do something incredibly specific for the part - learn skateboarding.
Fincher wanted to make sure Mara shed as much of her traditional femininity as possible, and so by learning to skate she would end up adopting the physical mannerisms of a teenage boy. Fincher said:
"I asked her to learn how to skateboard because you need to stand like a 13-year-old boy. I said, 'I don't want you to stand like a girl.'"
Again it paid off, as Mara received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her dedication. The lesson here? Never doubt Fincher's wisdom.