Michelle Rodriguez is one of Hollywood’s most successful actresses especially since she has been in the business for over 20 years. Rodriguez was born in San Antonio, Texas and she has been booked and busy since she got her first big role in Girlfight. She is mostly known for her action roles, but no one can argue that she is capable of acting in different genres. Most people know Rodriguez from her role in the Fast and Furious franchise which is a very important step in her career.
Some actors can receive critical acclaim, but in return, they don’t have a wide fan base. However, Rodriguez is known for having both and this is what makes her special. Other than her recurring role in Fast and Furious, the actress has also appeared in different films and series including Resident Evil, Widows, Turbo, and Lost. Here are some of her best performances.
10 Machete
Machete is about Isador Cortez, played by Danny Trejo, the ex-Federale who is also known as Machete. Machete’s character originated from the Spy Kids film released in 2001. The story begins when Cortez finds himself working as a day laborer in Texas after he was betrayed by his corrupt chief. Unfortunately for Cortez, this isn’t the only time he is mistreated.
He quickly finds himself in another unfortunate situation when he is betrayed once more by Michael Booth who is played by Jeff Fahey. This new betrayal came after Booth hired Cortez, or Machete, to kill a Texas Senator named John McLaughlin. It turns out that Booth works with McLaughlin, and he wanted to fake his assassination attempt just to gain sympathy votes. This only makes Machete get chased by the police.
Cortez then decides that enough is enough, and he gets ready to take revenge on Booth; this is where Rodriguez comes in. In the film, Rodriguez is Luz, who pretends to be working at a taco truck when in reality she is the leader of an immigrant aid movement which is anything but legal. Her role doesn't stop here. It starts to show more when she joins Cortez on his mission to take revenge for what he went through at the hands of Booth.
9 Resident Evil
Resident Evil is the kind of film that proved itself to be successful despite not being praised by many critics and also gaining zero awards. Its commercial success turned the 2002 film into a successful franchise that had good and not-so-good films as well. The very first part of Resident Evil follows the character of Alice (Milla Jovovich), who is assigned to contain a deadly virus that turns people into zombies. This virus originated from a secret facility called The Hive. It quickly turned all the residents into zombies while their lab animals became mutated.
In the film, Rodriguez plays the role of Rain who accompanies Alice on her mission to save the world and is part of the same unit. The excitement in Resident Evil is heightened even more when the audience learns that the team has only three hours to achieve their mission or the virus would spread to the rest of the world.
8 Fast and Furious 6
No one can deny that Fast and Furious 6 is one of the franchise’s best films. This part’s story revolves around a new adventure for Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), as well as the rest of the team. The team has been separated from each other after their Rio heist.
No one wants to spend the rest of their lives as fugitives so when Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) asks for their help, it is a chance of a lifetime. Hobbs wants Dom and his team to join his side and help him catch a team of mercenaries led by Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). In exchange for their services, they get full pardons for all their crimes.
When it comes to Rodriguez’s role in the film, we can say that it was one of the reasons behind the film’s success. After being assumed dead, Letty Ortiz, Rodriguez’s character, turns out to be alive and well. The plot twist here is that she doesn't come running to Dom’s, the love of her life, arms. The team discovers that Ortiz suffers from amnesia and is also part of Shaw’s team. Rodriguez’s role in this film specifically has helped the franchise immensely with such a plot twist.
7 Widows
Widows is about four women from Chicago who have to work together to pay a debt they didn't sign up for. Their husbands were a group of criminals who did several heists but ended up being killed. What they left for their wives is a debt they must pay to a crime boss since their husbands stole from him before their death.
Rodriguez plays the role of Linda who is one of the wives, and she joins Viola Davis, Carrie Coon, and Elizabeth Debicki who are the three other wives. They play the roles of Veronica, Amanda, and Alice, respectively. Critics praised Rodriguez and the film as a whole which comes as no surprise with such a cast. It also helps that the film was directed by Steve McQueen who also directed 12 Years a Slave.
6 Alita: Battle Angel
Alita: Battle Angel is a sci-fi film based on the Japanese manga created by Yukito Kishiro. The film takes place in 2563 which is 300 years after a war that happened back then. Its story starts when Alita is discovered in a scrapyard by Ido, who is a scientist. He finds the cyborg in a bad condition since she is missing her memories. After he takes Alita to his laboratory, he names her after his late daughter
In the film, Rodriguez is Gelda, who is another cyborg and is considered to be Alita’s mentor. We follow Alita in her attempts to survive in their post-apocalyptic world while she has to face her mysterious past. Alita: Battle Angel was quite successful and fans are still hoping that a sequel will happen.
5 Furious 7
Furious 7 proved itself to be enough evidence that the Fast and Furious franchise will always remain successful and loved by fans. The film was seen as one of the most successful parts of the franchise due to it being praised both by critics and audiences. It also won many awards, which is not surprising since Furious 7 was the part where the franchise paid tribute to the late Paul Walker.
We are met with a new adventure that Dominic and his crew have to experience even though they decided to retire from the criminal life. However, this retirement didn’t last for long because of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), who wants to get revenge for his brother, Owen Shaw. The drama doesn't stop here since the team also meets Mr. Nobody who hires them to stop a terrorist named Jakarde from stealing a hacking program.
Rodriguez still appeared as Letty who is still trying to get her memory back. Of course, Rodriguez gave us another spectacular performance.
4 Lost
Lost is another great example of how good Rodriguez’s performances are. However, this time we are talking about a show rather than a movie. It seems that Rodriguez only knows how to pick successful roles since Lost was very successful. It won many awards and Rodriguez herself was nominated by the Online Film & Television Association for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She was also nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series by ALMA Awards.
When it comes to the plot, Lost keeps you on the edge of your seat. It starts with the crash of Oceanic Air Flight 815 which forced the survivors to try and overcome their differences so that they can survive. Things get even more exciting when we know that the island they are on isn't what we would describe as a normal one. It has a mysterious smoke monster, another group staying there called “The Others,” polar bears, and more. With many secrets and hardships, they have to find it in themselves to try to survive together on an island where danger is always near.
Rodriguez is Ana Lucia Cortez, who was a police officer haunted by her past but still shouldn't be messed with. Despite not appearing in the show for a long time, Rodriguez still managed to get some nominations.
3 Avatar
Avatar is also another film that Rodriguez is mostly known from. This doesn't come as a surprise with a film that broke many numbers and changed cinema as we know it. In Avatar, we follow the character of the paraplegic Marine Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, as he uses an avatar to help him on a mission he was assigned. What mission exactly? He has to go to Pandora which is inhabited by the Na'vi, and he must convince them to leave since humans have their eyes on Pandora; in other words, they want to colonize it.
In the film, Rodriguez is the pilot Trudy Chacón, who was a very charming character and a fan favorite. Fans loved Chacón to the point where Rodriguez had to respond to people’s hopes that she will return. We see in the first part of Avatar how Rodriguez’s character decides to join the side of the Na’vi rather than following orders. The blockbuster film was directed by James Cameron, and it is definitely a film that Rodriguez will away be remembered for.
2 Girlfight
Girlfight is a special film for Rodriguez since it was her first leading role and one of her best roles in general. It proved that we have an actress who knows what she is doing, and it also foreshadowed the immense success she will come to gain.
The film is about a high school student known for her quick temper, and is named Diana Guzman played by Rodriguez. Not many support her decision to start boxing, but she does all she can to prove them wrong, especially her dad. The film surely has helped change how the world perceived women who start boxing which is a male-dominated sport.
Rodriguez’s acting skills made her character believable, and it added a lot of emotion to the film. She even won several awards for it including the Breakthrough Performance presented by the National Board of Review.
1 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves comes at first place in Rodriguez’s best performances. The film is based on the famous roleplaying board game, Dungeons & Dragons, and despite it not being the first adaptation, it is one of the best.
We follow the character of Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), who is a charming thief as he and a group of adventurers that decide to try and retrieve a lost relic. However, this quest turns out to be not an easy one as they come face to face with dangerous people. Some of the people they meet include Sofina the Red Wizard (Daisy Head), legendary creatures, and more.
In the film, Rodriguez plays the role of the barbarian Holga Kilgore. She is also Darvis’ companion. The film needed a lot of effort from Rodriguez to shift into the role of a barbarian. She talked about how she had to grow her armpit hair to make the role believable.
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