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Michelle Rodriguez has literally fought her way to stardom, starting with Karyn Kusama’s boxing drama Girlfight.](Girlfight (2000) - Movie | Moviefone) Rodriguez came away with an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance and the start of a unique career as one of Hollywood’s action heroines. In the past ten years, Rodriguez has driven with The Fast and the Furious,](The Fast and the Furious (2001) - Movie | Moviefone) fought zombies in Resident Evil,](Resident Evil (2002) - Movie | Moviefone) rode the waves in Blue Crush,](Blue Crush (2002) - Movie | Moviefone) got Lost,](http://abc.go.com/shows/lost) and piloted one of James Cameron’s futuristic ships in **Avatar. **](Avatar (2009) - Movie | Moviefone)
Rodriguez’s latest role as Luz in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete](Machete (2010) - Movie | Moviefone) takes the action star to a whole new level of kicking ass. Deep in the heart of Texas, Luz runs a taco truck that feeds the local day laborers home-style food, comfort, and hope for a better future – as well information about jobs, how to get papers, or even cash in a pinch. Luz’s alter ego is Shé, a revolutionary, gun-totin’ mama who runs an underground network that helps immigrants once they’ve crossed the border into the Texas. Luz ends up being a much-needed friend to Machete (Danny Trejo), a former Federales who escaped a Mexican drug lord by the skin of his teeth and keeps finding himself in increasingly messy situations on the Texan side of the border. He’s got a machete, but Luz has got, well, a lot more than a taco truck on her side.
Rodriguez took some time out of her busy day to talk to Cinematical about self-stereotyping, playing with politics in Machete, and the outer space kind of aliens she’ll be fighting in Battle: Los Angeles.](Battle: Los Angeles (2011) - Movie | Moviefone)Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Sony, Warner Brothers, New in Theaters, 20th Century Fox, Interviews