Why Dawn From Titans Looks So Familiar
It's almost inevitable that, when Hollywood puts out a new take on a beloved property, some will react with skepticism. But, every so often, a movie or show comes out that's strong enough to win over even the most conservative of naysayers, and that has very much been the case of "Titans," the ongoing TV series based on the popular "Teen Titans" comics. Although markedly different from either of the comics' two beloved animated adaptations, the live-action "Titans" has staked out its own territory as a fresh, engaging superhero show, and managed to become a sizable hit for both the defunct DC Universe streaming hub and its current home, HBO Max.
The series is centered around comic mainstays Dick Grayson aka Robin (Brenton Thwaites), Starfire (Anna Diop), Raven (Teagan Croft), and Beast Boy (Ryan Potter), with many other characters from the DC vault joining in on the action as the seasons progress. One of those characters is Dawn Granger, one half of the Hawk and Dove duo alongside Hank Hall (Alan Ritchson).
The actress who plays Dawn has been featured prominently on many TV series and several movies throughout the years. Here are a few of the most notable ones.
Minka Kelly got her break as Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights
The story of Minka Kelly's career beginnings is a strange and twisty one even by Hollywood standards. While testing for a modeling agency at 19, the Los Angeles-born actress captured the attention of a former "Playboy" Playmate, who offered to manage Kelly and help her follow in her footsteps. Placed as a secretary at a plastic surgeon's office so that she could eventually score a free operation, Kelly ultimately decided against having any surgical work done, and the manager had her fired. In the meantime, however, Kelly developed an interest in the office trade. So she went off to study nursing, and took a job as a surgeon's assistant (via Esquire).
She kept taking auditions here and there whenever she could. And, eventually, after working gigs like a "2 Fast 2 Furious" prelude short and a "Drake & Josh" guest spot, Kelly landed the role of cheerleader Lyla Garrity on "Friday Night Lights." It was the best break an up-and-coming actress could act for. Not only was the NBC football drama critically acclaimed throughout its entire run, but Kelly's luminous performance as Lyla for three seasons was among its most beloved components.
She played Max's behavioral aide Gaby on Parenthood
As her most visible early-career projects went, Minka Kelly certainly had a type. Much like "Friday Night Lights," "Parenthood" was a soulful, earnest NBC character drama that amassed a huge fan following despite being a ratings under performer. Where "Friday Night Lights" saw Kelly playing a high school student, however, "Parenthood" gave her the opportunity to sink her teeth into a more mature, if smaller, role.
Between Seasons 1 and 2, Kelly played Gaby, the highly competent and sensitive behavioral aide to Max Braverman (Max Burkholder). As a child with Asperger's syndrome, Max often exasperated and confused his parents Adam (Peter Krause) and Kristina (Monica Potter) with his lack of conventional communication. But Gaby got right through to him, understanding him on a level no other adult previously had, and teaching Kristina a lot about her son in the process. Kelly played Gaby on a total of nine episodes, seven of which were on Season 2, where she was thus properly credited as a recurring star.
She exercised her scream queen chops on The Roommate
Minka Kelly has had a lot of successful projects on TV, but her film career is not too shabby either. After making a memorable one-scene appearance in the final moments of sleeper hit romcom "(500) Days of Summer" (if you've seen the movie, you know which character we're referring to), she jumped right ahead to a leading role in the 2011 film "The Roommate."
Directed by Christian E. Christiansen and written by Sonny Mallhi, "The Roommate" is a lurid obsession thriller in the tradition of "Single White Female." Kelly stars as Sara Matthews, a freshman college student in Los Angeles who is introduced to her shy, mysterious roommate Rebecca Evans (Leighton Meester), and then finds herself overwhelmed by danger as Rebecca gradually reveals a sick, possessive obsession with her.
The film became a box office success (via Box Office Mojo) and earned Kelly two nominations in public-vote awards: the MTV Movie Award for Best Scared-As-S*** Performance, and the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress in a Drama (via IMDb).
She was the (literally) perfect Detective Valerie Stahl on Almost Human
Following her "Friday Night Lights" and "Parenthood" tenures, Minka Kelly had some trouble landing a new project that stuck. Her casting as part of the main trio on the 2011 ABC reboot of "Charlie's Angels" proved to be a false start, as the show was canceled after a mere four episodes had aired (via Entertainment Weekly). Kelly subsequently joined the cast of another ill-fated network genre series, Fox's "Almost Human." Much like the 2011 "Charlie's Angels," "Almost Human" was canceled after a single season — but it at least managed to develop a cult following in the meantime, thanks to its breezy, charming take on cyberpunk sci-fi tropes.
Kelly's character, Valerie Stahl, was one of the many detectives working as part of the police force led by Captain Sandra Maldonado (Lili Taylor), and the primary love interest of protagonist John Kennex (Karl Urban). Although not a part of the line of lifelike androids known as "synthetics" who give the show its conceptual thrust, Detective Stahl was similarly a product of tech advancement. She was a Chrome, i.e. a human being genetically engineered to be as intelligent, beautiful, and skilled as possible. Her origins came into play on several episodes, especially the Chrome-focused "Perception."
She's intriguing Euphoria fans as Maddy's boss Samantha
It's safe to say that HBO's "Euphoria" is one of the biggest shows out there at the moment. Although the second season of the Sam Levinson-helmed teen drama has been controversial, fans have been invariably turning out in droves to watch it week after week, with every new development in the season generating tons of buzz on social media.
Out of all those developments, one that clearly demonstrates the hold "Euphoria" has over the cultural zeitgeist is the role of Samantha. The beautiful, easygoing rich woman who hires Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie) to babysit her son Theo (Yukon Clement) and offers her occasional life advice, Samantha has, by all accounts, a small role on the season. But her brief appearances seem to always get the internet talking about what a striking and beguiling presence she is, and her surprising chemistry and camaraderie with Maddy have led more than a few ship-prone viewers to hope for an "Euphoria" take on "The Sound of Music" (via Distractify) — while others just furrow their brows at the lady's offers of alcohol to a minor (via Elle Australia).