--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' I spent…" description: "\"On 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' I spent two or three months learning how to ride a motorcycle. I wasn't really riding the motorcycle in 98 percent of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/rooney-mara-10551_girl_on-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-i-spent-t_3070729.jpg" --- # On 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' I spent two or three… ![“On 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' I spent two or three months learning how to ride a motorcycle. I wasn't really riding the motorcycle in 98 percent of the movie, but the shots of me getting on and off had to look like I had been doing it for years and years.” quote by Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/rooney-mara-10551_girl_on-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-i-spent-t_3070729.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/rooney-mara-10551_girl_on-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-i-spent-t_3070729.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/rooney-mara-10551_girl_on-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-i-spent-t_3070729.jpg) > “On 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' I spent two or three months learning how to ride a motorcycle. I wasn't really riding the motorcycle in 98 percent of the movie, but the shots of me getting on and off had to look like I had been doing it for years and years.” [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She learned to ride a motorcycle for months to convincingly portray a seasoned rider in the film. **In simple terms:** She practiced motorcycling to appear experienced on screen. Key Takeaway Practice skills to match role expectations. Themes dedication authenticity performance Mood determined focused Type professional artistic When to use this quote - film set - acting preparation - motorcycle training Key Concepts method acting skill acquisition Questions to Reflect On - How far should actors go to embody a role? - What are the limits of method acting? A Different Perspective Skill acquisition may not translate to real expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Motorcycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motorcycle/) [Motorcycle 98](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motorcycle-98-5193119/) [Motorcycle Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motorcycle-wasn-5193118/) [Ride Motorcycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ride-motorcycle-797541/) [Riding Motorcycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riding-motorcycle-2343224/) [Tattoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tattoo/) [Three months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-months/) [Years and years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-and-years/) ## Related quotes > [“Riding a motorcycle is velocity as poetry. The fine balance between elegant agility and fatal fall is a kind of truth, and like all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/riding-a-motorcycle-is-velocity-as-poetry-the-fine-balance-between/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [When I'm riding my motorcycle, I'm glad to be alive. When I stop riding my motorcycle, I'm glad to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/when-i-m-riding-my-motorcycle-i-m-glad-to-be-alive-when-i-stop-riding/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [Riding my motorcycle around L.A. is like my own video game. But unlike many folks at the wheel, I am occupied with getting where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/riding-my-motorcycle-around-l-a-is-like-my-own-video-game-but-unlike/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [It's about the time I was riding my Motorcycle, going down a mountain road at 150 miles an hour, playing my guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlo-guthrie/it-s-about-the-time-i-was-riding-my-motorcycle-going-down-a-mountain/) [Arlo Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlo-guthrie/) > [I'm definitely never going to be a biker. I'm scared of cars so the idea of riding a motorcycle is just never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-m-definitely-never-going-to-be-a-biker-i-m-scared-of-cars-so-the/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [If you see me out on the street, you would see me in jeans and cut-off shirt riding a motorcycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-undertaker/if-you-see-me-out-on-the-street-you-would-see-me-in-jeans-and-cut-off/) [The Undertaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-undertaker/) > [“Being in combat is a pretty accurate description of riding a motorcycle in traffic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-hough/being-in-combat-is-a-pretty-accurate-description-of-riding-a/) [David L. Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-hough/) > [Try to remember the reason you started riding a motorcycle in the first place. For me, it was a couple of things but mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-barger/try-to-remember-the-reason-you-started-riding-a-motorcycle-in-the/) [Sonny Barger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonny-barger/) > [All girls like guys who are tough. Obviously, riding a motorcycle - I don't want to say that there's a bad boy quality -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/all-girls-like-guys-who-are-tough-obviously-riding-a-motorcycle-i-don/) [Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/) > [Riding a motorcycle on today's highways, you have to ride in a very defensive manner. 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Because I go to comic cons, and people come up and they say, 'You're the reason I ride a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-winkler/it-feels-blessed-to-me-because-i-go-to-comic-cons-and-people-come-up/) [Henry Winkler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-winkler/) > [Evel Knievel bet me $25,000 I couldn't ride a motorcycle 650 miles from Las Vegas to Twin Falls, Idaho.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-riggs/evel-knievel-bet-me-25-000-i-couldn-t-ride-a-motorcycle-650-miles/) [Bobby Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-riggs/) > [I actually have no aspirations to ride a motorcycle ever again. Its exhausting. You get cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-walker/i-actually-have-no-aspirations-to-ride-a-motorcycle-ever-again-its/) [Ally Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-walker/) > [Note to self: Never ride a motorcycle in stilettos and a miniskirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-grace/note-to-self-never-ride-a-motorcycle-in-stilettos-and-a-miniskirt/) [Maggie Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-grace/) ## More by Rooney Mara > [It's really hard coming of age in today's society, where society wants you to make the decision of what you want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rooney-mara/it-s-really-hard-coming-of-age-in-today-s-society-where-society-wants/) [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) > [There's a certain way people are used to seeing nude women, and that's in a submissive, coy pose, not looking at the camera. 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I think it comes from understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rooney-mara/how-do-we-get-to-equality-i-don-t-think-it-comes-from-fear-i-think-it/) [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) > [If the character should be nude in the scene and it makes sense and I trust the person making the film then I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rooney-mara/if-the-character-should-be-nude-in-the-scene-and-it-makes-sense-and-i/) [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) > [As a 12-year-old, I think everything seems scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rooney-mara/as-a-12-year-old-i-think-everything-seems-scary/) [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) > [I'm not at all funny. I can do dark comedy pretty well, but straight-up comedy, I don't know. I'm much darker. I've been like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rooney-mara/i-m-not-at-all-funny-i-can-do-dark-comedy-pretty-well-but-straight-up/) [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) > [People think that I grew up going to Barneys for my back-to-school clothes. I went to the Gap. We lived in a nice house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rooney-mara/people-think-that-i-grew-up-going-to-barneys-for-my-back-to-school/) [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) > [I don't find myself intriguing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rooney-mara/i-don-t-find-myself-intriguing/) [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) > [I like being alone. I need a lot of alone time as a human. 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