Rihanna's 'Battleship' Trainer: She's a Rad Chick

Wonderwall, Friday, May 18, 2012, 11:27am (PDT)

By Lisa Ingrassia

• For her feature film debut, Rihanna chose a role that was not too hard for her to identity with: a tough chick with an attitude. But in order to accurately portray Petty Officer 2nd Class Cora Raikes in "Battleship," director Peter Berg brought in a real-life version of her character, Jacqueline Carrizosa, a former 2nd class gunner's mate working on the USS Ronald Reagan.

  RELATED: Rihanna reveals her girl crush on Angelina Jolie

  "She's a pretty rad chick," Carrizosa tells Wonderwall of her experience working with the superstar prior to filming. "She's aggressive, and she says how she feels."

  Tasked with teaching Rihanna how to operate machine guns like the ones used on the USS Missouri, where parts of the movie were filmed, Carrizosa spent several days educating the star. "We went over postures and how she should carry herself, and what mindset she should have," Carrizosa says. "She can be sarcastic and badass, but you still have to maintain professionalism -- and that makes you even more badass, because you're within the rules."

  RELATED: Rihanna's Bikini Style

  When she saw the film, Carrizosa knew Rihanna had been a good student. "I watched everything about her -- the way her legs moved," she says. "She did an awesome job."

  RELATED: How the cast of “Battleship” bonded over karaoke

  One thing that took a while for RiRi to pick up? Playing soccer -- a skill she needed to hone for a scene in the beginning of the film. "When she tried to kick the ball for the first time during soccer, she missed it. That was probably one of the funniest things. I've never seen that before," Carrizosa quipped. "But she got it down."