Rosario Dawson says her new film is close to her heart after adopting a young girl herself

AFTER adopting a young girl herself, actor Rosario Dawson has told of how her latest role as a detective searching for a missing girl, is close to her heart.

ROSARIO Dawson is no armchair activist.

Breaking news that the 35-year-old star of Sin City and Death Proof has adopted a 12-year-old girl would appear to be entirely in character.

Dawson, who grew up in a squat on the lower East side of Manhattan, has been a passionate, dedicated, long-time campaigner for a raft of worthy causes, including environmental group Global Cool, Oxfam, Amnesty International and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

Discovered while sitting on her front porch by controversial filmmakers Larry Clark and Harmony Korine (Kids), the actress co-founded Voto Latino, a non-denominational organisation aimed at mobilising the Latino vote, a decade ago.

And she has for many years been an active supporter of the Lower East Side Girls Club, an organisation that helps disadvantaged young women build a better future.

Motherhood comes in all shapes and sizes. Dawson , somewhat characteristically, has chosen to embrace a broader, more inclusive, community-minded version for herself.

The actress’s career and her activism together neatly in her latest film, The Captive, about the mysterious disappearance of a young girl and the lasting trauma that has on those involved.

“Despite all the work I do in all these other arenas, sometimes the thing that’s the most palpable, and has the most reach, is doing a fictional story about it,’’ says Dawson, who plays a detective specialising in child abuse.

New role ... Rosario Dawson plays the role of detective Nicole Dunlop in The Captive. Picture: Supplied

“It’s remarkable that as human beings we can be touched by other people’s experiences.”

Child grooming on the internet, technologically sophisticated paedophile rings and the benign public face of evil are just some of the issues tackled in Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s latest project, set against a chill wintry backdrop, and featuring Ryan Reynolds as the girl’s haunted father.

But despite the dark subject matter, Dawson says it’s important to keep it in perspective.

“I mean, there is a lot to be excited about, too. There are rainbows and there is starlight and there is beauty. Of course everybody should be able to talk to strangers because strangers can become friends and mentors and teachers and partners.

“Nothing in itself is inherently good or bad. But there are choices that are there. It’s about how people utilise those choices.”

On screen ... actor Rosario Dawson in a scene from The Captive.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dawson advocates self-education as her preferred method of navigating a path through such confronting territory.

“It’s not about looking at every situation as if it is dangerous, but it’s important to look both ways.”

“You don’t want to be like: I don’t really understand the internet that much so I just let my kids do whatever. It’s like: wow, you wouldn’t want your kids just to stumble down a dark alley and not have checked it out first.”

Dawson’s political credentials might be impeccable, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t up for a good laugh - as she proves in her next film, Chris Rock’s hotly-anticipated Top Five, breakout hit of the Toronto Film Festival.

“I don’t do comedies very often. If I do, it’s usually the straight guy thing. So it was really nice to have to flex my comedic muscle and also to have some of the most creative comedic geniuses around me to play off of and work with and be inspired by.

“I have known Chris since I was 19 so we go way back. This is our first collaboration. Somehow he brought out of my funny. It was great.”

>SEE The Captive - opens on December 4