Alexandra Daddario has had a full and illustrious career for over a decade. Perhaps viewers may get nostalgic remembering her from the maligned Percy Jackson films that stopped being made. Playing Annabeth, the daughter of Athena and a demigod, Daddario made an impression.
Or it could be her more recent work that springs to mind. After a tenure in the Max series The White Lotus, which capitalizes on cringe humor, she has gone on to lead her own series in AMC’s Mayfair Witches. But it was one of her smaller appearances that became one of Daddario’s best roles in television. Appearing as a supporting part in HBO’s magnum opus, True Detective, Daddario was an admirable addition to the cast. And that is saying something when in company with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey.
Who does Alexandra Daddario play in True Detective?
When the first season of True Detective premiered in 2014, it reset the expectations for what television should be. Told in three separate eras, season 1 unfolds a gripping mystery wrapped up in a moving character drama. Seasons that followed never quite captured the magic of the philosophical themes and character progression, making the freshman season of True Detective stand the test of time.
At the heart of the story was Harrelson in the role of Marty Hart. Though a family man and ⏤ as the title suggests ⏤ a true detective, Marty’s Achilles’ heel is his extramarital affairs. The first the audience sees him with is Daddario’s character, Lisa Tragentti. A court stenographer, Lisa meets Marty in a professional setting that turns unequivocally unprofessional.
She’s aware that he’s married, and she isn’t looking for a long-term commitment. This dynamic reveals a double standard as Marty demands fidelity from her while he is actively cheating on his wife. Daddario doesn’t stick around for the whole season, as the relationship inevitably goes up in flames, but the few episodes she appears in are significant not just for Marty’s character progression, but as a showcase for the Mayfair Witches actor’s talent. Daddario opened up to MTV News about the challenges of her intimate scenes with Harrelson that required nudity.
“I think one thing about this role for me was that it was a huge challenge for me, and I saw it as a good challenge. I saw it as an interesting challenge. I really wanted to be part of the show, and I understood why the nudity and all of that was required of the character… The character is really different from anything that I’ve done before. The nudity was just part of that.”
Daddario further elaborated that working opposite Harrelson made her more comfortable. The seasoned actor helped cultivate a professional atmosphere, which put the young actor at ease. Ultimately, Lisa is the final straw that breaks the back of Marty’s marriage (for the first time). The messy resolution to their dalliance shows how inept Marty is at keeping his personal life in order and his regrettable treatment of women. Daddario was a small but integral component of a show that remains a masterclass in storytelling.
