‘Rent’: Was Rosario Dawson Really Singing?
When it comes to big-screen musicals, it is not uncommon for actors to bow out of actually performing the music. Not surprisingly, many can’t hack it when it comes to the vocal power necessary to carry a musical feature film. However, there are some notable exceptions to this rule, including well-known and highly respected actor Rosario Dawson.
Dawson sang her entire role in the 2005 film production of ‘Rent’
The daughter of singer-songwriter Isabel Celeste, Dawson had big shoes to fill on the set of Rent. She joined six of the original cast members from the Broadway play, as well as actor Tracie Thoms, to round out the primary cast, according to Live About.
Nonetheless, she rose to the occasion, and she sang everything required for the lead role of Mimi Marquez. According to MTV, she even sang for director Chris Columbus to secure the role. While she had no formal musical training prior to joining Rent, she did have an interesting background in music.
In addition to her familial tie to music through her mother, she appeared on a Prince album in the 1990s, as well as an Outkast album, according to What Culture.
More interestingly, however, her unique background lent itself to her role in Rent. Biography reports that, as a child, her family became squatters in an empty building because they couldn’t afford rent, which would continue for years.
While it wasn’t ideal, Dawson’s mother and stepfather would work to make it home, even renovating it, wiring it, and installing plumbing. This experience would help inform her portrayal of struggling Mimi, an HIV-positive dancer struggling with financial issues and drug addiction.
Dawson’s career has shown her depth as an actress and more
First discovered at the age of 15, Dawson’s first role was in Kids, a controversial movie about urban youth. She would then go on to appear in movies such as Men in Black II, Josie and the Pussycats, and Sin City, all within a few years of Rent.
Many consider Rent to be her breakout role, after which she went on to roles in films and TV shows such as Seven Pounds, Eagle Eye, Zombieland: Double Tap, and The Mandalorian. She has also gotten into successful voice work, including The Lego Batman Movie and Wonder Woman in a long list of animated Justice League films.
Dawson has also leaned into her life as a political activist and mother. She has worked alongside the Lower Eastside Girls Club, as well as working to get Latin youth active in voting. Given her activism, it is not surprising that she has been dating Democratic Senator Cory Booker for a few years now.
She also adopted her now 17-year-old daughter Lola in 2014, when Lola was just 11, Yahoo reports. Dawson also works hard to live a healthy and intentional life, given all her ongoing pursuits.
‘Rent’ was a major success with audiences
Critics were split on Rent in film format across the board. One critic noted the film gave him “high hopes, flat results,” while another from The New York Times:
“Openhearted to a fault, it stakes its integrity on the faith that even in millennial New York, some things — friendship, compassion, grief, pleasure, beauty — are more important than money or real estate.”
Audiences, on the other hand, were not disappointed. Scoring an impressive 83% from 250,000+ reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the film pleased old fans of the Broadway hit and scored new ones.
A tale based on the opera La Boheme, the story follows a group of New Yorkers in the early 1990s as they attempt to navigate their love lives, careers, and financial hardship in the midst of the AIDS epidemic. The original Broadway cast members that returned included Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs, and Anthony Rapp, among others.
Rent can be purchased now on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, or streamed on HBO Max.
