Rosario Dawson has had a busy summer, with her starring roles in Ahsoka , and Haunted Mansion hitting Disney-Plus and theaters, respectively. But her favorite role is that of activist, and ongoingly aspires to make a difference in the world.
Recently the actress, 44, hosted SHISEIDO Blue Project's third-annual West Coast beach clean-up in Huntington Beach, California, alongside World Surf League One Ocean and WILDCOAST, an international team that conserves coastal and marine ecosystems and addresses climate change through natural solutions.
Rosario was thrilled to be a part of the iconic Japanese beauty brand's event, helping to pick up trash and chatted to HELLO! along the way.
"I was very excited to come here," said Rosario. "This is the third year in a row now that Shiseido Blue Project and World Surf League (WSL) One Ocean have come together, to be able to do beach cleanup and coral restoration."
Established in 2019, Shiseido Blue Project is a global effort to promote the protection of the oceans. Through this initiative, SHISEIDO and WSL have collaborated on a series of activities, including promoting sun-safe habits.
Explaining the need to care for ocean wildlife and beach preservation, Rosario described the overall experience as "beautiful" and "really interesting."
"You're walking around and within just a few feet, you can come across quite a lot of things to pick up which is devastating, but also wonderful when you have intention behind it and we can do something."
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With such an inspiring mom, it's no wonder Rosario's daughter, 20 year old Isabella, is also interested in activism, but bringing forth her own unique perspective.
"I remember me and my daughter were talking and she was like, 'you know, I'm just not interested in being on a podium like you, mom. I'm not going to do that kind of thing.' And I was like, 'well, that doesn't mean that you can't be an advocate or an activist or volunteer.' And she said, 'well, what do you mean?' I told her, 'there's all different kinds of ways to show up. We need everyone to participate. We need artists to make signs and write beautiful things that make people understand what we're trying to deal with here."
Once Isabella understood what her mom meant, she immediately infused her creativity within her activism.
"She started drawing all of these really amazing posters around conservation and anti-violence and it was powerful. And I was like, 'this is the kind of thing that makes an impact and difference.' If we all did our part, we're good to go. It's just that so often we feel like we have to do everything and we have to be perfect about it."
For decades, Dawson has always had a love of beaches.
"I'm from Coney Island, New York, so the beach is very important to me. And the idea of One Ocean– I work a lot in Africa, so having that connection of the Atlantic Ocean…really, we're all connected. And so when we pollute over here, it travels and it goes over there. There is no, 'I'm just going to throw this and put it into this dump and I never have to be conscious around restoration, regenerative farming, making sure that we're recycling, composting, all of these different things,'" she stated.
Rosario is worried about the world's environmental future.
"We are not leaving this place for our children the way that we got it…I'm gonna make sure to do everything on my watch. I got to experience that beauty when I was a kid and it's only gotten worse since then," she acknowledged.
With so much more plastic and goods in the world, Rosario wants people to get more responsible about their garbage.
"You've got to bend over and pick it up and throw it in the trash. I read somewhere that if people have to walk more than 10 feet to get to a trash can, they'll just throw it on the floor. I'm like 'I go home with my pockets full of garbage, because I will literally pick up stuff until I find a trash can!' This is so foreign to me and we just have got to talk about it."