As a born and bred New Yorker, 34-year-old actress Alexandra Daddario has creativity pulsing through her veins, an impressive work ethic, and a fierce sense of humor. Daddario’s career has taken her from soap operas to major films and everything in between. With roles in the Percy Jackson film series, San Andreas, Baywatch, and thrillers like Texas Chainsaw 3D, Daddario has had her fair share of both laughs and cries on the big screen.
The starlet’s latest role puts her alongside Johnny Knoxvilles, Amy Forsyth, and Austin Swift in the horror film, We Summon The Darkness. “I’m very excited about this one, and that’s not always the case. Sometimes I lie and I’m not really excited,” Daddario admits of the new film. “I was a big fan of Marc Meyers, the director. We pulled off what we wanted. It’s a really fun ride. There are twists and turns.” Daddario describes how Marc Meyers (My Friend Dahmer) brought the script from Alan Trezza to life flawlessly, showcasing three girls in the 1980s on their way to a heavy metal concert who unknowingly end up embarking on a night of well, murder.
“I don’t remember the ‘80s. I was too little. But, there is always something for people to panic about. The closest thing I could relate it to was Howard Stern in the ‘90s, where he was said to be guiding our young people the wrong way,” she explains, hinting that the script for We Summon The Darkness deals with similar controversial moments. “It ends up being a metaphor for something greater, which is fun,” Daddario adds, revealing no spoilers.
With such a range of roles on her resume, Daddario says she always looks to the quality of a project’s story first, before the role itself. Finding those emotions within a character can be challenging though, and at-times can take a toll on her. “If I have to cry every day or scream, you feel all riled up and anxious when you get home because you’re tricking your body into thinking something is wrong in order to deliver an authentic performance. That’s the weirdest part about acting for me.” She adds that living out of a hotel for long periods of time was fun when she was in her 20s but now can be a bit more trying. “Now it’s about trying to lean into that and put whatever you can into your work.”
Something else that has changed for Daddario since becoming an actor is the evolution of social media. With nearly 16 million followers on Instagram, Daddario’s social media is quite the commodity. “It is bizarre because it isn’t what I initially got into acting for but the world has changed a lot since I started 20 years ago.” Daddario describes how she originally wanted to be in Les Miserables on Broadway, and today she can do parts of her job and make money from Instagram. “It’s a double-edged sword. There are negative emotional repercussions to being constantly inundated and feeling that pressure. I try to have a sense of humor with my social media though,” she says. “I try not to take life too seriously. Life is hard as it is and I’m pretty lucky to have the social media following I have, even if it was a surprise to me.”
The positive aspect to having such an impressive following includes being able to promote her films and other projects, including We Summon The Darkness. The film is available on VOD now.
