Alexandra Daddario ‘Embraced’ True Detective, But It Was Landing The White Lotus That Was The Real Win© Photograph by Mario Perez/HBO

Alexandra Daddario has had quite a career. She started out with her breakthrough role in Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and later transitioned into more adult roles, which includes leading the Mayfair Witches series inspired by Anne Rice’s novels. Like many actors, Daddario has experienced all the ups and downs that Hollywood throws at you. From box office bombs to small screen hits, the Baywatch actress recently opened up about what different roles have done for her career, and how True Detective and The White Lotus are touchstones.

In a profile for Man of Many, Daddario chatted with the publication about some of her experiences within the entertainment world, and the “finicky” nature of a creative career. While some roles never truly hit for her, there are many formative ones that hold a special place in her heart for personal reasons. Others, however, did gain traction.

True Detective, for example, was a major moment for her and did wonders for her landing jobs, which she has embraced. She explained:

True Detective was huge for me, and I fully embraced that. There were things that didn’t make a huge splash in my career, but that meant a lot to me. Burying the Ex was a movie that ended up going to the Venice Film Festival, and that was super cool. There are these moments, like certain red carpets you get to be on, certain people you get to meet or work with, or there’s some stuff that permeates pop culture, or stuff no one ever saw, but it meant a lot to me.

For context, Daddario appeared in four episodes of the first season of True Detective. She played Lisa Tragnetti, a court reporter and mistress of Woody Harrelson’s Martin Hart.

Due to the popularity of the show, and one notable racy scene between Harrelson and Daddario, the spotlight on the actress got bigger, leading to her becoming a much more recognizable face.

However, Alexandra Daddario’s career started to dwindle before the buzzy HBO series, The White Lotus. However, after Mike White’s show came out, her acting career really took off. She said:

It was awesome. I mean, you have to remember too, there wasn’t much coming out. It was a very strange time. The last thing we were thinking about was, ‘How is this going to do?’ Well, at least I was. So when it became the phenomenon it became, it was wonderful. I feel like if you get lucky enough as an actress to be on something that invades the pop culture in that way, you always feel blessed by success. Why wouldn’t you feel excited about it? I’ll talk about it for the rest of my life.

Such a life-altering career moment doesn’t come every day, and she knows that from personal experience. The actress received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work on the first season of The White Lotus, and she seemingly out of nowhere became one of the biggest young stars on the small screen.

She is hyper-aware of the rarity of the moment, and she expressed gratitude towards her career success as a result. Daddario also reflected on the experience in the context of it being a COVID production, where they were mostly isolated at the Four Seasons resort in Maui, Hawaii. She said:

We were sort of coming out of a cave, and we were all just a little bit off, I think. There was even a part of time when some of us were in quarantine, but everyone was so lovely, and every day we’d go to the beach, we’d watch the sunset, and we were very together. It felt more like a family. To have that kind of success during a time when it was hard to get work, I feel very blessed and lucky.

The anthology nature of The White Lotus means Daddario likely won’t be coming back for another season of the successful show, however, she has expressed the desire to return to the hotel-centered dramedy. Even if she isn’t able to reprise her role, the positive life changes she’s had as a result of the series continue.

She is no longer an up-and-coming actress, but a must-have leading lady. She also continues to participate in indie films, with her latest, A Tree Fell in the Woods expected to hit cinemas in the near future.

You can see Alexandra Daddario in The Mayfair Witches, which was recently renewed for a second season and will be available to stream for AMC+ subscribers next year. You can also revisit her career-altering performances in True Detective and The White Lotus, which are both streaming now with a Max subscription.