Rooney Mara As Lisbeth Salander

With her delicate beauty and quiet demeanor, Rooney Mara might not be what readers had in mind to play the heavily-pierced and tattooed hacker Lisbeth Salander. But the creators of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo saw something in her that got her cast for the coveted role.

The then-unknown Mara had to prepare for the film and everything it entailed, from kickboxing to riding motorbikes and even smoking cigarettes. It all paid off as she received praise for her performance in the adaptation of the Swedish novel. Too bad the role was recast for the sequel with The Crown’s Claire Foy replacing Mara in 2018.