She may have been acting since she was a young teen, but Alexandra Daddario is having a renaissance of sorts. In the last decade, the actress, who initially rose to fame after landing the role of Annabeth Chase in the Percy Jackson movies, has gone on to star in the Emmy-winning crime drama True Detective before starring alongside Dwayne Johnson in both San Andreas and Baywatch.
In 2021, Daddario also starred in Mike White’s award-winning series, The White Lotus, which resulted in the actress’ first Emmy nod for her performance as Rachel Patton. Since then, Daddario has gone on to pursue other projects (particularly, Mayfair Witches), leaving her no time to catch up on what happened in The White Lotus next.
Alexandra Daddario Landed A Role In The White Lotus Just As She Was Feeling ‘A Little Stuck’
Sure, Daddario has starred in several big-budget films and scored some major tv roles. But it felt like her career had hit the wall and she was unsure what would happen next just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced everyone into lockdown.
“It was the pandemic, so there was that warp of reality,” she recalled. “I was still in a place in my career where yes, I had some choice about what I auditioned for, but also I felt a little stuck and wasn’t sure which direction I was going in.”
But then, Daddario learned that White had an upcoming project, and she knew she wanted to be a part of it.
“Well, I wanted to be part of it before. You could have given me any role, you could have told me I was going to play the beach monster and I would’ve played it. So I was happy to join the project. I don’t remember what his pitch was.”
Soon after, Daddario got word that she had been cast as newlywed Rachel who goes on a honeymoon with her husband Shane (Jake Lacy).
“I remember reading the scripts on the plane on the way to Hawaii, and I remember really feeling a lot of sympathy for her,” she said of her character.
“My thoughts about a character start to form instinctually. I don’t try to put anything on it. I just let it come to me a little bit. I felt like she was really sad and had gotten stuck in the situation accidentally. And I took it from there.”
Later on, Daddario received her first-ever Emmy nomination for her role in the series, and for the actress, that meant a great deal.
“I’ve been doing this since I was a child, so having something like an Emmy nomination under my belt means a lot. Being an actor means ups and downs, but you hope for that accolade. It’s a nice acknowledgment of people saying, ‘Okay, wow, we loved you in this show,’ she said. “It did open up doors. I couldn’t have been more shocked and happy about that.”
Soon after her in The White Lotus, it was announced that Daddario landed her first series lead role in AMC’s Mayfair Witches.
She Calls Herself A ‘Jerk’ For Missing Out On The White Lotus Season 2
And while everyone may be talking about the recently concluded second season of The White Lotus but as it turns out, Daddario hasn’t had a chance to check it out just yet.
“I’m such a jerk,” the actress remarked. “I haven’t had time to watch anything, even my favorite reality shows, which says a lot.”
That said, Daddario isn’t totally in the dark about what happened next on the show.
“I’ve been reading a ton about season two, though, and it looks fun,” she revealed. “As soon as my husband is back in town, we will watch it together. I’m so excited.”
Is Alexandra Daddario Willing To Return To The White Lotus?
If White wants Daddario back on set, the actress is all for it. “I’d work with Mike White no matter what,” she told TV Insider.
“So if he had some idea, of course. But at the same time, I’m very happy with the arc and where it left off, and the story that we told. But yeah, I think Mike is just incredible and I really love working with him. It was one of the most wonderful director experiences I’ve had.”
As for Rachel and Jake’s relationship now, Daddario believes that the couple would still be together but not for long.
“I do think she’s going to leave him,” the actress said. “I like to think that because I had this whole idea for the character, and borrowing some stuff from myself, that she’s still on her journey, even though she’s in her 30s, which usually they say in your 30s, you’ve sort of figured it out…”
Recently, it was confirmed that the show is returning for a third season and from the looks of it, White plans to continue the story of The White Lotus in Asia.
“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” the showrunner told Variety.
“I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.”
And because of the anthology nature of the series, the show will likely return with a brand-new cast (although is not ruling out the return of recurring star Jennifer Coolidge, even if he just killed her off).
That said, a reunion among season 1 and season 2 stars might also be interesting.