Ana Clark

> "All right, anybody who's injured, let's get you into Metropolis right away. I'll come take a look at you."
>
> Ana Clark, *Dawn of the Dead*

**Ana Clark** is the protagonist of *Dawn of the Dead*. She was a nurse living in a peaceful Milwaukee suburb until the zombie outbreak turned her life upside-down and she joined a group of survivors to take refuge in a mall. Ana was portrayed by Sarah Polley.

## Biography

Ana worked as a nurse at St. George's Hospital until the zombie outbreak uprooted her life. On her final day of work there were signs of the outbreak impacting the hospital workload. She made it home late for date night and missed the news of the outbreak occurring around her. She woke up the next morning when her husband, Luis Clark, called for her help with their neighbor, Vivian's injuries. Before she knew it, Vivan has bitten into Luis' throat, and Ana locked her out of the room while she attempted to reach emergency responders. Responders were unavailable and Luis became a zombie before her eyes, forcing her to flee her home and drive out of their Milwaukee suburb.

In the chaos of the spreading infection, Ana ran her car off the road in Everett, Wisconsin. It was here, next to the street, where she met another traveler, police sergeant Kenneth Hall. Determining that she was not infected, he took sympathy on Ana and allowed her to tag along as he headed for Fort Pastor. Shortly after this they took gunfire from another scared survivor and once things settled down, merged with the new group. They had just fled the dead from the direction of the fort, and so they all agreed to take refuge in the nearby shopping center, Crossroads Mall.

The group of five broke into a loading bay at the back of the mall, finding themselves in the locked-down store of Metropolis. They broke through the storefront to survey the rest of the mall and settled at the fountain at the front of the mall. Michael and Andre left to check the entrances while the other three stayed back. While the fountain trio was distracted by the sounds of a zombie attacking Michael in the distance, Luda was approached by another from behind.

Kenneth struggled with the zombie and Ana picked up his shotgun, firing it into the zombie's shoulder. Andre and Michael quickly returned at the sound of the gunshot, rejoined the fountain group, and the entire unit ran for the elevators. On the next floor they found the Crossroads Mall security waiting for them, guns drawn. After an argument, the guards agreed to let them up into the Panasonic under their watch.

## Relationships

**Luis Clark**: Ana's husband, with whom she held a happy, healthy relationship until the zombie outbreak took him from her. When his zombified form attacked her, she was forced to flee their home. After this, she was able to move on relatively quickly.

**Vivian**: A young girl from Ana's neighborhood with whom Ana occasionally played after work. The Clarks didn't think it strange that she would enter their home uninvited, suggesting they were more than neighborly.

**Cora**: Ana's fellow nurse at St. George's Hospital with whom she traded shifts when convenient.

**Rosen Dandawar**: Ana's coworker. A doctor at St. George's Hospital. His limited attention span annoyed her.

**Kenneth Hall**: After fleeing her home, Kenneth effectively became Ana's protector. He was the first person she met as a fellow survivor and one of the few who saw out her entire journey through their new life together.

## References

James Gunn (writer) & Zack Snyder (director) March 19, 2004. *Dawn of the Dead*.