Noomi Rapace plays Elizabeth Shaw.

Prometheus' Cast and Characters

1. Of the five major roles to be cast, Noomi Rapace is the first actor signed to star in the film. The young Swedish actress landed the role of scientist Elizabeth Shaw after Scott saw her portrayal of fictional Lisbeth Salander in the film The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, for which she was lauded by Time magazine as a 2010 Performance of the Year. Rapace starred in all three entries of the breakout global franchise based on Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy of books (The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest are the other two entries), which have collectively grossed more than $212 million worldwide.  (Fox press release) 
2.  She was interviewed by MTV,  and asked about her character in relation to Ripley from Alien "She's a scientist and is very bright," she continued. "She's a believer. I think there are some similarities, but she's very much her own. I don't think people will compare her so much to Ripley once they see the movie."
3. Aftenposten also interviewed Noomi about her role                                                                  Alien og Terminator                                                                                                           Samarbeidet med Ridley Scott er i Alien-universet, men ikke en egentlig en del av Alien-serien. Rapace får ikke lov å røpe handlingen, hun får bare lov å snakke om sin rollefigur.- Jeg spiller Elizabeth Shaw, forsker og arkeolog. Hun er engelsk men oppvokst i Afrika for faren var misjonær. Fra ham har hun fått troen på gud, og har et sterkt indre. Hun er nok det mest hele mennesket jeg har gjort. Hun har et indre lys. Hun er veldig sta og målbevisst. Hun mistet foreldrene da hun var barn, så hun har fra tidlig av vært alene. Men hun er veldig intelligent. Jeg vet jo at når en har klart seg lenge selv, så blir en sterk. Men også skjør, for det sårede barnet i henne har ikke fått utvilke seg naturlig. Man er emosjonelt lettbrekkelig. Hun er full av håp, en drømmer, litt naiv. I midten av filmen skjer en masse ting og hun forvandles til en kriger – en annen side ved henne vekkes til liv.                                                                         - Det høres ut som hun har en del til felles med actionheltinnenes gudmor, Ellen Ripley?                                                                                                                                           - Ja absolutt! Det finnes et slektskap her. Jeg så Alien som tenåring og ble helt ”blown away”. Kan det virkelig være sånn! Det var jo den første kvinnelige hovedrollen! Ridley har, med både Alien og Thelma & Louise, vekket drømmer og håp hos mange. 
   GoogleTranslation                                                                                                                             Aftenposten :The collaboration with Ridley Scott in the Alien universe, but not really a part of the Alien series. Rapace are not allowed to reveal the action, she is only allowed to talk about her character. 
   Noomi- I play Elizabeth Shaw, a researcher and archaeologist. She is English but grew up in Africa for his father was a missionary. From him she had faith in God, and have a strong inner self. She is probably the most whole person I have done. She has an inner light. She is very stubborn and determined. She lost her parents when she was a child, as she has from early times been alone. But she is very intelligent. I know that when one has survived long myself, so be strong. But also fragile, for the wounded child within her has not been'll develop naturally. One is emotional lettbrekkelig. She is full of hope, a dream, a little naive. In the middle of the movie is a lot of things and she transforms into a warrior - another side of her awakening to life. 
   Aftenposten- It sounds like she has a part in common with the actionheroines godmother, Ellen Ripley? 
   Noomi: Yes, absolutely! There is a kinship here. I saw Alien as a teenager and was completely "blown away". Can it really be that way! It was the first female lead! Ridley has, with both Alien and Thelma & Louise, awakened dreams and hopes of many. 

4. Noomi's resemblance to an Enki Bilal Illustration

Illustration from Bilal's La Femme Piège next to Noomi Rapace

Enki Bilal the comic book artist had been one of the major talents along with Moebius of the early Heavy Metal comic books that captured Ridley's interest. Bilal's work has been an influence on the shadowy look of Blade Runner. When I watched Noomi Rapace in the movie The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo, she reminded me a little of the type of faces drawn by Enki Bilal, and later it turned out that Ridley had become very interested in her for a role in a film that was to be a prequel to Alien and was soon to become a film called Prometheus. So I ask the question is the fact that Noomi resembles a sort of woman drawn by Bilal, if this was one of the contributing factors for Ridley Scott taking an interest in her for the film role.