The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

So Chris delayed his commute to work to watch the nominations. And when Rooney Mara's name was indeed called in the best actress category, her father did what any father of a 26-year-old hopeful would do when nominated for an Oscar.



"I let out a pretty big scream," he said. "And then I cried."

Rooney's old man eventually made his way to St. Patrick's in Bedford, N.Y., where he lit a couple of candles for the woman who became famous playing the bisexual computer hacker in "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."


"I thought she was on the bubble because the category was so tough this year," Chris Mara said. "It was a very tough role for her, and a lot of hard work went into it, so this is her Super Bowl."


"Rooney had to learn how to kickbox and ride a motorcycle and do so many physical things to get ready for the film," Mara said. "She showed a lot of toughness going through the whole experience, and she had a director, David Fincher, who was just like Tom Coughlin or Bill Parcells. He made her get through that role."



By all accounts, including her father's, Rooney Mara lost herself inside the dark, mysterious, antisocial character that is Lisbeth Salander.


"But that screening was the most nervous I've ever been before any game, including the Super Bowls," Chris Mara said. "It wasn't for the faint of heart, but Rooney blew me away by how good she was. I forgot it was my daughter, and that just proved to me she was Oscar-worthy."

I have to say, we have the right girl. Rooney Mara is so amazing and she really is driven and she really is focused on her character. So with the piercings, she was really driven to do it. It was the whole day of transition—it was the haircut, the hair dye, eyebrows, the piercings, working on the tattoos. I don’t think she was hesitant.


There is so much beauty in her. There is this level of innocence that is so much like Salander and I’m sure that is what David saw, but then there is this crazy determined drive that she has too, and this kind of fearlessness. I think it was both bittersweet and exciting, and she was ready. I think at one point she even said, “I can’t wait to get rid of this hair.” So that was another step of her transformation.


Trish Summerville, Costumer Designer, TGWTDT






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