True Detective actress explains why she undressed for the HBO crime drama
Who is Alexandra Daddario and why is everybody talking about her naked body?
The Hollywood Gossip reports that the winsome actress – heretofore known primarily for her recurring role in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians film franchise – has suddenly vaulted to more mature acting ranks courtesy of her nude scene in the gritty HBO drama True Detective.
And the impetus for shedding her clothes?
"I saw it as an interesting challenge," said Daddario in a recent MTV interview. "I really wanted to be part of the show and I understood why the nudity and all of that was required of the character."
Launched by HBO last week, True Detective stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as hard-boiled detectives rewinding the grisly case of 'a serial murderer leaving female bodies all over the state of Louisiana.
Daddario assumes the role of a court clerk named Lisa with whom Harrelson's cop character is having a torrid extra-marital affair. In the scene that has everyone talking, she playfully handcuffs her married lover to a chair while she seductively peels off all her clothes.
"The character is really different from anything that I've done before," Daddario, 27, said. "The nudity was just part of that."
In the same MTV interview, Daddario, whom younger viewers know as the demigod heroine Annabeth in the Percy Jackson films, gave full credit to Harrelson for making her nude scenes easier.
"He made the whole situation very comfortable," Daddario said. "It wasn't anything awkward in that sense. I tried not to think about it too much before shooting the more intimate scenes and just sort of did it. He's been there and done that. He's Woody Harrelson."
Based on early reviews, True Detective has already prompted at least one media outlet to declare "HBO Once Again Has the Best New Show on TV."
And while the Lisa character appears only fleetingly in the show's opener, the woman playing her says the plot thickens considerably in episodes to come.
"I think she's definitely got some issues," teased Daddario cryptically. "Nobody is all good or bad."
