'Sin City' Unites Us Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba was born in Pomona, California, but she moved around the United States quite frequently in her early life due to her father serving in the military. Alba had her television breakthrough when she starred in 'Dark Angel' (2000-2002) as the main character Max Guevara, a genetically modified soldier also known as X5-452.

Whilst Alba had roles in a number of films from 1994 to 2003, it would be fair to say that the first big year for the actress was 2005; this was the year in which she starred as both Invisible Woman (Susan Storm) in 'Fantastic Four' and Nancy Callahan - a character vulnerable to the advances of powerful families and corrupt officials but protected by Detective John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) - in 'Sin City'.

Answer: Mickey Rourke

In the early 1990s, Mickey Rourke, the "tough guy" actor from the state of New York, took a break from acting and stepped into the ring to try his hand at professional boxing, building upon his experience of the sport that he developed in his youth. He fought in eight professional matches (six wins, two draws).

Rourke's early film career is considered by a number of critics to be "hit and miss" (he was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award in 1991), but the performance he put in as the battle-hardened and seemingly indestructible Marv in 'Sin City' pushed the actor back towards the top of the industry (at least for stereotypical "hard man" roles). He consolidated his standing with another memorable performance in 'The Wrestler' (2009), winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama as well as being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Answer: Rosario Dawson

Born in New York City in 1979, Rosario Dawson is an actress that has featured in a number of comic book-inspired films including 'Wonder Woman' (2008), 'Justice League: Throne of Atlantis' (2015) and 'Reign of the Supermen' (2019). Dawson also made the transition to long-form "Netflix-style" content, most notably starring as the title character in the Disney+ 'Star Wars' series, 'Ahsoka'.

Before any of this however, Dawson played the fiercely territorial character of Gail in 'Sin City'. Given the extent of the corruption in the dog-eat-dog urban dystopia of Sin City, a group called the Girls of Old Town (of which Gail was a leading figure) had very little option but to look after themselves in whatever way they saw fit. Matters get messy however when the "Girls" into a lethal altercation with an undercover police officer.

In 2018, Rosario Dawson entered into a relationship with US Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey), a relationship that briefly attracted a moderate amount of attention during Booker's unsuccessful campaign to lead the Democratic Party into the 2020 presidential election.

Answer: Elijah Wood

It is hard to argue against the assertion that Elijah Wood, born in Iowa in 1981, is most widely recognised for playing the role of Frodo Baggins, the heroic hobbit at the centre of the 'Lord of the Rings' movie trilogy. As a symbolic reminder of his time playing the ring-bearing Frodo, Wood was tattooed with a word from the Sindarin language (spoken by elves of Middle Earth); the word tattooed on his body was "nine", a nod to the number of characters in the Fellowship (also known as the Nine Walkers).

Wood's role as Kevin in 'Sin City' is, in its own niche way, just as memorable. Kevin was a brutal - and silent - killer whose glasses stand as one of the film's most enduring and successful examples of graphical neo-noir aesthetics.

Elijah Wood often expressed his love of music and in 2005 he set up a record label called Simian Records. This was a relatively short-lived business however, ceasing to trade in 2015.

Answer: Devon Aoki

Devon Aoki was born in New York City in 1982, and is the daughter of Japanese restaurateur (founder of the Benihana chain) and wrestler, Rocky Aoki. Alongside a successful modelling career, Aoki featured in a number of productions for the big screen, including the Mitsubishi Eclipse-driving Suki in the 2003 film '2 Fast 2 Furious' and Miho in 'Sin City'. Miho does not speak, but don't let this fool you - she is not to be messed with! This sword-wielding character amasses a high kill count in defence of the Old Town.

Answer: Josh Hartnett

'Cracker' (1997-1998) was an unsuccessful US drama based on the more accomplished UK version that starred Robbie Coltrane. Whilst the US version of the show was pulled - with a number of episodes left unaired - it proved to be the beginning of a solid career for the Minnesota-born actor Josh Hartnett; he played the part of Michael Fitzgerald, the teenage son of the main character.

In 'Sin City', Hartnett had a small role, but it certainly left an impression! He played a character known by a number of aliases including The Colonel, The Man, and The Salesman. These monikers are all somewhat euphemistic as his profession - if indeed one can call it that - was as an assassin. Hartnett's hit man is depicted undertaking an assassination of The Customer, a mysterious woman wearing a red dress (a stylish garment that looks great in the neo-noir style).

Answer: Brittany Murphy

At the time that 'Sin City' was released in 2005, the actress who played Shellie - a barmaid who was once in a relationship with the alcoholic Basin City cop "Jackie Boy" - went by the name Brittany Murphy. This was also the name under which she was credited for her performance alongside Eminem (Marshall Mathers) in '8 Mile' (2002); in this drama set in Detroit, Murphy played Alex Latourno, a love interest of Eminem's character, Jimmy or "B-Rabbit" (his in-film rap name). Alex and Jimmy first became close after she saw one of Jimmy's early impromptu freestyle rap performances. As the film progresses, Alex witnesses Jimmy's domestic difficulties (living in a trailer) as well as his growing success in the rap scene.

By the time of her death in 2009, the Atlanta-born actress was known as Brittany Murphy-Monjack, the last part of this double-barrelled name was taken from the surname of her husband, Simon Monjack, who she married in 2007. The relationship was a troubled one and within six months of Brittany's death, Simon Monjack had also died.

Answer: Bruce Willis

The complete catalogue of memorable films that starred Bruce Willis is far too long to recreate here, so I will settle for just a few of my personal favourites: 'The Sixth Sense' (1999), '12 Monkeys' (1995) and, of course, 'Sin City'. In the latter of these films - as well as in the sequel 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' (2014) - Willis plays a detective called John Hartigan. Hartigan is everything you could ask for from a detective: an iron will in the face of corruption, selflessness (to the point of death), and a dependable sense of right and wrong.

It was announced in early 2023 that the 'Die Hard' actor had been diagnosed with a form of dementia, although he formally retired from acting a year earlier due to aphasia (significant language impairment).

Answer: Michael Clarke Duncan

Many Stephen King novels have been adapted for the big screen and two of the more successful adaptations from the 1990s were set in prisons, namely 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994) and 'The Green Mile' (1999). Michael Clarke Duncan starred in the latter of these two films, playing the role of John Coffey, a seriously and fatally misunderstood man who found himself on death row for rape and murder. Over time, the guards at the prison - led by Paul Edgecombe (Tom Hanks) - became convinced that Coffey did not commit these crimes and that he was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time whilst attempting to put his seemingly miraculous capabilities to use in righting the wrongs of others.

Michael Clarke Duncan also played the role of Manute in 'Sin City', a character that led a mob invasion of the Old Town culminating in an epic shoot out.

In 2012, Michael Clarke Duncan died at the age of 54 in a hospital in Los Angeles.

Answer: Clive Owen

The English actor Clive Owen, born in Coventry in 1964, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London in the 1980s and this education and training gave him a solid platform upon which to pursue a career spanning film, television and theatre. Prior to starring as Dwight McCarthy - a principal character who nearly meets his maker in the depths of a tar pit - in 'Sin City', Owen featured in a number of films including the Hollywood blockbuster, 'The Bourne Identity' (2002), and the altogether more niche production, 'Bent' (1997), an exploration of the plight of homosexual men during the Holocaust.