Alexandra Daddario has been a known name in Hollywood for over a decade now, getting her big break in the original Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and subsequent franchise films. She then hopped into bigger roles in True Detective and films like Baywatch and San Andreas, but if you hadn’t heard much about her in the time pre-pandemic, you’d probably be forgiven. In fact, the actress recently admitted her career had stalled for a time and that getting cast in HBO's The White Lotus really made a difference for her.
Hollywood can be a fickle place. Even huge names like Chris Hemsworth have opened up about their careers stalling in the past. Daddario's career shot her to the moon thanks to aforementioned projects, but then she hit a rough patch. It's not something she seems interested in hiding either, as she told Women's Health in a large profile about where she's at.
In the couple years prior to the pandemic, I knew the work I needed to be doing, but it just wasn’t happening. I was like, ‘Where am I going?
While Alexandra Daddario doesn’t expressly say what movies were involved in her career slump, she had a slew of movies in a row that weren’t so well-reviewed. This includes 2021’s Die in A Gunfight (17% Rotten), 2020’s Lost Girls and Love Hotels (50% Rotten), and 2019’s Can You Keep A Secret? (30% Rotten). Even stuff that was generally well-reviewed like We Have Always Lived in the Castle (88%) didn’t get the same sort of attention that perhaps it deserved.
That all changed with The White Lotus. Sure a bikini moment in Mike White's series made Daddario go viral, but her performance as newlywed Rachel was top notch. It led to more notice and more projects, but perhaps most strikingly: a 2022 Emmy nomination. The actress wasn’t expecting that when she said yes to filming a series in quarantine at a Four Seasons, but it certainly sounds like an added win.
I never expect these things to happen. They constantly surprise me. I just do what I love.
This time, doing what she loved worked out. Next up, Daddario will be headlining The Mayfair Witches, a new show that has her playing Rowan, an intriguing neurosurgeon with hidden talents. It's also based on Anne Rice books. She's also set to appear in the upcoming movie Wildflower.
As for the HBO Max show that brought her back into the Hollywood fold? The White Lotus is currently heading into Season 2. While it will bring back at least a couple of cast members from Season 1, there will be a new resort and a lot of White Lotus Season 2 cast members to meet. You can catch up on the series with an HBO Max subscription; regardless, it should be a good year for Daddario and for anyone who likes projects she's appeared in.
