How Well Do Rosario Dawson & Hayden Christensen Really Know Each Other?
'Ahsohka' stars Rosario Dawson & Hayden Christensen sit down to determine how well they actually know each other. Friends since they were teenagers, the pair reminisce over Hayden's audition for the role of Anakin Skywalker, discuss Rosario's first film 'Kids', and debate over who has the best lightsaber skills.
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00:00Hi, I'm Zaria Dawson.
00:01Hello, I'm Hayden Christensen.
00:02And we're going to play...
00:04How well do you know each other?
00:15What year did you both first meet?
00:18Oh, yeah.
00:24Yeah, we got this.
00:26Yeah.
00:31We met in theater school in New York.
00:33And you were the cool kid because you had just done the movie Kids.
00:37So everyone was sort of always clamoring around you.
00:39But you were so sweet.
00:40And you're so kind to me.
00:42And I was like the young, shy Canadian kid.
00:45But you went out of your way to kind of make me feel welcome.
00:47And it was always very much appreciated.
00:49Awesome.
00:50It's so weird.
00:51I don't remember people clamoring around me.
00:52I remember being super intimidated by people like you.
00:56Because you had come in to specifically want to be an actor.
01:00And I had kind of happenstanced on it by getting picked off the street.
01:03So I was like, wow, like people had like reels.
01:07And they had their headshots and stuff.
01:09And I didn't even know where to stand for lighting.
01:11But I had this movie out.
01:12So people thought that I did.
01:13But I was like, so impressed by you knowing what you wanted to do so early.
01:18Who is better with a lightsaber?
01:22I've had a lot of practice, but.
01:31Now if you were to ask who's better with two lightsabers, clearly me.
01:35She definitely has the win on that one.
01:44It's funny having us paired together.
01:45Because I'm goofy as all hell.
01:47That's why they pair us together to kind of take me down.
01:50And we coordinate our clothing too, which helps.
01:53By accident.
01:54It's just a connection thing.
01:55Yeah.
01:56I did two-hour training five days a week.
01:58And then on the weekends even, I was rehearsing and training with my stuntwoman from
02:04Mandalorian.
02:05Because I just wanted to kind of just keep it in my body.
02:08And that was such a rewarding experience.
02:10Because when I got to that point where I started feeling that ambidextrous
02:15and really getting coordinated,
02:18I started really zeroing in on Ahsoka.
02:20Because she is so capable.
02:22And you see her from the very beginning being so capable.
02:25But a lot more of her learning was about her leadership.
02:28About taking on the responsibility of other people's lives.
02:33And how challenging that is.
02:34Because she's so young in the Clone Wars and starting up.
02:37And she's bringing people into battle and not all of them come away from it.
02:41The burden of that and the guilt of that is really trying.
02:44So that was her more emotional and spiritual development.
02:48But that physical, getting that physical down,
02:51made me feel like I was really actually embodying her.
02:53It was really fun.
02:54Yeah.
02:54You were a badass.
02:56I was so impressed.
02:57What city was Rosario born in?
03:02I think...
03:06Specifically...
03:11Where Brooklyn at.
03:12Brooklyn, yeah.
03:13Hey, Coney Island, baby.
03:15This counts as the city.
03:16Of course.
03:16NYC, yes.
03:18All the way.
03:18I really love the clamor and the chaos.
03:21One of my favorite things about a New Yorker is
03:24you'll see people in the midtown, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle.
03:27And then they'll all be looking up because there's a little portion of a rainbow
03:30that you can see between all the skyrises.
03:33And it's just like we have that moment and then we keep it moving.
03:36What city was Hayden born in?
03:40That's not quite as obvious as we think.
03:44West Coast.
03:45It's not going to be in this one, but maybe in this one.
03:50You got it.
03:50You got it.
03:51Really?
03:51Okay, good.
03:53Yeah, I was born in Vancouver, Vancouver, Canada.
03:56And then my family moved to Toronto when I was pretty young.
03:58I was going to ride Toronto.
03:59That's why I was kind of thrown.
04:01Things are in the air.
04:02Exactly.
04:02You're looking out.
04:03I got you.
04:04Which film did Rosario make her debut in?
04:07Ah, I got this.
04:08No.
04:09Which we shot 30 years ago this summer.
04:12Really?
04:12Yeah.
04:13Next year will be the 30 year anniversary of it coming out.
04:15You tested negative for all sexually transmitted diseases and infections?
04:20Yes.
04:22You're clean.
04:23God, I can't tell you how nervous I was.
04:25I remember watching that film for the first time.
04:27I was probably a bit too young to see it, but it was because I was in New York and I
04:31was visiting my grandparents and, you know, my family had basic cable girls.
04:35And it was on HBO and I watched it and it's such a powerful, visceral movie.
04:41And it really made an impact on me.
04:42And you were phenomenal in it.
04:44Thank you.
04:44Yeah.
04:44How old was Hayden when he was cast as Anakin Skywalker?
04:49Oh, I know the answer.
04:50I got this.
04:50Oh, I got it.
04:54Yay!
04:54Because it was pretty soon after I was born.
04:57Yeah.
04:57I was like, oh my God, I got it.
04:58I was like, oh my God, I got it.
05:00I was like, oh my God, I got it.
05:01I was like, oh my God, I got it.
05:02I was like, oh my God, I got it.
05:03I was like, oh my God, I got it.
05:04Because it was pretty soon after we met.
05:05And I remember just being so stoked for you.
05:08So blown away.
05:08Yeah, I was pretty young and just sort of getting into it still and got a very lucky break.
05:14Mm-hmm.
05:14Yeah.
05:15You know I don't like it when you do that.
05:16Sorry, master.
05:17I forgot you don't like flying.
05:20Well, you've lost it.
05:21If you'll excuse me.
05:22It was a long casting process.
05:24I started when I was 18, actually.
05:26I met the casting director and I was living in Vancouver, actually, at the time.
05:31And I remember the next phase of the auditioning process.
05:34They were inviting a bunch of people out to Los Angeles to meet with George Lucas.
05:39But they were asking everyone to pay for their own way out there.
05:42And I was still a struggling young artist.
05:44And I was like, I don't know if I can really justify the plane ticket.
05:47Because there's no way I'm getting this role.
05:49I remember when they first brought it up, I was like, that sounds amazing.
05:52But is there like a smaller part or something that I could audition for?
05:55Because it just didn't seem attainable.
05:58So I actually bowed out at that point.
06:00Wow.
06:00And then I got a phone call like a few weeks later saying they would pay for my ticket to
06:04come out to Skywalker Ranch.
06:06And I got to meet George out at the Skywalker Ranch.
06:09And that went well.
06:09And then I auditioned with Natalie.
06:11And I got a really nice phone call a few days later saying I got the part.
06:14Dope.
06:16A little hard to get.
06:17Yes.
06:18I like that.
06:19What was the name of the comic book Rosario created?
06:24Yeah, that's a tough one.
06:26I know you have an uncle who's a great comic book artist.
06:30Did you do it with him?
06:32I actually did.
06:33Yeah, he worked on it a little bit.
06:36It's Letters of a Month.
06:39Letters of a Month.
06:41And it has to do with the occult.
06:45So which month would you think?
06:48October?
06:50It's pretty close.
06:51Occult Crimes Task Force.
06:52Yeah?
06:53Yeah.
06:53All right, I got to check it out.
06:54That's pretty cool.
06:55Yeah.
06:56Actually, I love comics.
06:57As you were alluding, my uncle is a comic book artist.
06:59So I remember since I was younger, he used to have all of his comics in these plastic sleeves.
07:07And he would let me read them, but only back to back.
07:12And he would flip the pages.
07:14So I literally couldn't breathe on them or touch them.
07:16So to me, they were like sacred text.
07:19And I remember growing up with the mythos and the story of my grandmother having the
07:24original Superman number one and all of that and her mother throwing them out.
07:29No.
07:29Which was crazy.
07:30So I just, you know, it was one of the reasons why I did Sin City and so many other projects.
07:35You have 10 seconds to tell us what you're doing bringing cops to Old Town.
07:40I knew who Frank Miller was.
07:42And I was like, no, you don't understand.
07:43This is like everything.
07:45I'm just so grateful for having a family that just supported that kind of artistry.
07:48And it was just something I wanted to explore.
07:50And we're actually investigating kind of bringing it back.
07:54So.
07:54Amazing.
07:55Yeah.
07:56Hayden bought a farm in which Canadian town or province?
08:00Oh, that's, that's, that's, you're not going to get that.
08:02Yeah, let's do province.
08:03Province.
08:04We could, we could maybe get.
08:09Bring out the Calgary.
08:10I don't know.
08:11Same province that I grew up in, in Toronto.
08:15Oh, that's not Ontario, right?
08:17Yeah, there we go.
08:20Yeah.
08:20West side.
08:22Wait, I gotta do it.
08:24It's East Coast more, but yeah.
08:25Oh, wait.
08:26Yeah.
08:26Sorry.
08:26Oh, wait.
08:27Cause that's no.
08:28Okay.
08:28Fine.
08:28My parents had a farm when I was a little kid.
08:31And so I have these, you know, memories of going and visiting this farm up until like
08:35the age of like five or six.
08:38And then honestly spending a lot of time at the Skywalker Ranch.
08:41That was a big influence on me too.
08:43And just sort of wanting some place that I could escape to the country.
08:47What's the name of the outcast song Rosario was featured on?
08:51You were featured on?
08:52Yeah.
08:52I sing in it and I giggle in it.
08:54Really?
08:54Yeah.
08:55He asked me to be.
08:56I love outcasts.
08:59Can you, can you tell me the album?
09:00Uh, Speak of Rocks.
09:02Speak, I don't know.
09:05I don't know.
09:06I don't know.
09:06I'm also terrible with song names.
09:07Okay.
09:08So I probably know the song, but I wouldn't know the name.
09:10So it's almost like, you know, you can swim a, and you can also put something on your
09:16three letter word.
09:18On your leg.
09:19What?
09:21A lap.
09:22You can swim a lap or you can put something on your lap.
09:25Just tell me the name of the song.
09:26Okay.
09:28She lives in my lap.
09:29She lives in my lap.
09:33The love below.
09:35The love below.
09:36I know the love below.
09:36Yeah, of course.
09:37The song.
09:37That's me saying that.
09:38That's you?
09:39Yeah.
09:39Is it really?
09:40Yeah.
09:40That's awesome.
09:45He had asked me to do a music video and film it.
09:48And then we never did the music video, but he had me come into the studio and do that.
09:51Really?
09:52That's so cool.
09:53Yes.
09:54What is Hayden's favorite hockey team?
09:56Oh, I really should know this.
10:04I think the movie's coming to my mind.
10:10Like the Mighty Ducks.
10:14I feel like Dave would be so mad at me right now.
10:17I've always been a big Toronto Maple Leafs fan ever since I was a little kid.
10:21Classic.
10:22Yeah.
10:23When I was in grade school, you know how you have to do like public speeches?
10:27And I did a whole speech on the last Toronto Maple Leafs team that won the Stanley Cup,
10:32which was a long time ago.
10:34That's like being a Mets fan.
10:36Yeah.
10:38But yeah, that's my hockey team.
10:39I mean, I was a big Wayne Gretzky fan.
10:41Wayne Gretzky was the great one.
10:43And I got to meet him a couple of times.
10:45I remember the first time I was a little kid, and he was at a tennis tournament.
10:49And I was there, too.
10:50And I saw him in the stands.
10:52And a lot of people did as well.
10:54And so he had a bit of a crowd gathering around him.
10:56But he was so kind.
10:57And he took his time with everyone and signed autographs for everyone.
11:00And it really made an impression on me.
11:02It's nice to do those things.
11:04That's dope.
11:05Is that when you were working, playing?
11:07That's when I was a ball boy.
11:08Ball boy.
11:09That was pretty fun.
11:10My first paying gig was ball boy at the Canadian Open tennis tournament.
11:14What was Rosario's character's name in Rent?
11:18Ooh.
11:20They call me...
11:22Sadly, I've actually never seen Rent.
11:25At all, period?
11:26Let alone the movie?
11:27I know, I know, I know.
11:28I went to a performing arts school, and everyone was obsessed with Rent.
11:33And you were like...
11:33And so I think I kind of was like rebelling against it a little bit.
11:37Are you not a musical guy?
11:38And I'm not really a musical guy, I guess.
11:42But I think it's so cool that you did it.
11:43Who'd you play?
11:44They call me Mimi.
11:48You played Mimi?
11:48Mimi, yeah.
11:50That's how I want to be for my grandma name.
11:52That's what I'm hoping my grandson calls me.
11:54Yeah, Grandma Mimi.
12:03What film did Hayden receive his Golden Globe nomination for?
12:07It was something to do with a house, it was Life as a House.
12:15Life as a House?
12:16Yeah.
12:18Yeah, it was a movie I did with Kevin Kline a long time ago about a father sort of reconciling
12:25his relationship with his son.
12:27And a very, very touching film, Irwin Winkler movie.
12:31You're giving me all the hints.
12:32I cannot remember the name of this movie.
12:34I did not see that one.
12:35And I love Kevin Kline.
12:36Yeah, me too.
12:37Life as a House.
12:38Yeah, there you go.
12:39We know each other pretty well, I think.
12:40We did okay.
12:41Okay, not too shabby.