Mayfair Witches star Alexandra Daddario was already fairly well known when she landed a small role in the first season of True Detective, but her career really took off after, and the actress credits her much-discussed nude scene for at least some of her success.
The Emmy-nominated The White Lotus star stripped off for a sex scene with Woody Harrelson's character, and the sequence in question gained a certain amount of notoriety. It's easy enough to see why.
Daddario's character was seemingly only added to the story so she could take her top off, then made just a couple of appearances over the course of the entire season. The show drew criticism for relying on a sexist trope in an attempt to pull in more viewers, which was a lot more prevalent even just a few years ago than it is today.
Despite the backlash, Daddario has no regrets.
"I have a lot of thoughts on this topic, but for example, when True Detective came out and I was naked on the show, and it was huge for my career and the phone was ringing and I got some work off of it, I think that I hadn’t been that aware of my sex appeal prior to that," she tells Men's Journal. "I tried not to take it too seriously. I really love acting, in my heart I’m just a theater nerd, and I sort of took that and said, ‘This is good for my career,’ and embraced it.
Daddario has gone on to appear in the likes of Baywatch, San Andreas, and The Layover, before finding acclaim for her performance in the first season of The White Lotus. She later landed the lead in AMC's adaptation of Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches, which was renewed for a sophomore run earlier this year.
"Mayfair Witches focuses on an intuitive young neurosurgeon (Alexandra Daddario) who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence (Jack Huston) that has haunted her family for generations."
Esta Spalding (Masters of Sex, On Becoming a God in Central Florida) and Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex, The Pacific, John Adams) both executive produce and wrote of the series, while Spalding is also on board as showrunner.
Mayfair Witches also stars Tongayi Chirisa as Ciprien Grieve and Harry Hamlin as Cortland Mayfair.