Before Alexandra Daddario became known for more mature roles like 2017’s Baywatch and her pivotal part in Season 1 of The White Lotus, the actress found her first major leading role in the movie adaptations of the Percy Jackson series. At the age of 22, she suddenly became known around the world as the face of a book franchise so many young people love. As Daddario now returns to book adaptations in a big way with her new series Mayfair Witches, the actress spoke about her experience playing book characters, and how her latest role compares to the part that marked her big break.
AMC’s Mayfair Witches sees Alexandra Daddario playing the leading role in Anne Rice’s trilogy of novels following the network finding success with another one of the author’s works, Interview with the Vampire. When talking about her latest project with The New York Times, Daddario compared it with her early role, saying this:
There was a similar pressure when I was doing ‘Percy Jackson.’ Of course, you’ll always have people who think something is supposed to be this or that way, so you just have to go in with good intentions and try to bring life to the character.
Daddario sounds like she’s well aware that book readers often look at book-to-screen adaptations with a close eye, and there’s a “pressure” associated with that. When it comes down to it, the actress sounds like she has found confidence when it comes to the choices she makes with characters, and she focuses on that rather than the noise. When thinking back to her role in the Percy Jackson movies, she also added this:
Kids are such a great fan base. They don’t judge the movie harshly because they don’t know any better than to just love the characters.
When it came to Alexandra Daddario’s role in 2010’s The Lightning Thief and 2013’s The Sea of Monsters, a franchise that could have been five movies was cut short by a lack of massive success for the property. It could have been the next Harry Potter, but due to numerous differences between the movies and the source material, it never quite ascended into the territory of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, even if the fandom was there.
The fact that we didn’t see more Percy Jackson movies of course wasn’t at the fault of Alexandra Daddario, and her acting career has continued to bloom following her roles in those movies. As she moves on with her leading role in Mayfair Witches, Disney+ just wrapped production on its Percy Jackson series starring a new set of young actors who will play demigods.
Five of the eight episodes in the first season of Mayfair Witches have aired on AMC, and you can watch Daddario’s latest journey into book-to-screen adaptations on AMC+. The next episode will air on Thursday, February 9.