Rosario Dawson: It's exciting to play a 'real' person in the world of superheroes

The Sin City star takes on the role of nurse Claire Temple in Marvel’s Daredevil, based on the comic book about a blind lawyer with heightened senses who becomes a crime fighting vigilante at night.

The 13-part series, which will stream on Netflix later this month, stars British actor Charlie Cox in the title role.

Speaking on the red carpet at the premiere of the show in Los Angeles, Rosario said: “For me it’s super exciting to play a person who is a real, fallible person in a world where superheroes exist but we aren’t looking at them and we aren’t concentrating on them.

“We are concentrating on street level crimes and when you are looking at that and you’re a real person you’re throwing yourself in to the fray. It’s not someone with indestructible skin who is an alien and won’t even flinch, This is a person with real blood coming out and bones are crunching. It raises the stakes a bit.”

She added: “How does someone make that choice? How do you get hurt, fall down and and decide to get back up and do it again the next day? What does that look like? To get into that psychology is really interesting.”

But Rosario also promised that there would be some laughs along with the action and drama.

“That’s one of the things I love so much about this, Marvel is genius at comedy. Their comics always have that little zinger, that little line and you see how funny these things are. There are a bunch of people running around in spandex fighting petty crime in their spare time, there is hilarity that will ensue.”

Charlie Cox, who is best known for his role in Boardwalk Empire, plays the role of Matt Murdock, who becomes Daredevil after dark and the 32-year-old said he still can’t believe he is now a Marvel superhero.

“The craziest phone call you get in your life is when you find out you’re in the running for it because you think it might have just ruined your life because you might not get it.

“I remember where I was standing when I got the call and it was a very, very cool moment and surreal, filled with great excitement and massive anxiety.”

The Londoner had to put in some serious work to get in shape for the role as the blind action star.

“There was a lot of gym work, working with a martial artist and boxing coach and working with a blind consultant and figuring out how that felt an what that looked like and the other thing that was important to me was I didn’t grow up on the comics, I had never read a Daredevil comic, so it was to read as many comics as I could get my hands on.”

Daredevil will stream on Netflix in the UK on April 10.