What was the best career move by a former little-known actress?

Alexandra Daddario knew exactly what she was doing when she chose to play Lisa Tragnetti in the incredible first season of True Detective. Before 2014 she was mainly known for her role in the Percy Jackson films, which had lukewarm to bad reviews, and the awful ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D’. She was getting a few roles in TV shows but nothing noteworthy that would put her name out there for the masses. She wanted Hollywood’s doors to open to her and when she saw an audition call for a show with the likes of Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey she didn’t hesitate.

In an interview with Collider, she explained:

The tactical decision was, I went in for the audition and they seemed vaguely interested, and it was for a different role and I was like, ‘Well, they’re vaguely interested and I love these actors and I love Cary Fukunaga and I want to be in this show, so let me force them to hire me.’ [Laughs]

I thought I need something on my resume that shows that I can do something different, or something. I just thought it would look good on my resume. That was where I sort of was at at that point. And that would look to Hollywood like, ‘Oh, she’s doing something different’.

What she didn’t expect was for her role in that show to become infamous literally overnight. When episode 2 premiered fans went wild for an intimate scene she shared with the luckiest man alive… I mean… Woody Harrelson, and she felt the change immediately:

I didn’t expect to have what I had happen happen, which was – it’s a long time ago now – getting n***d on a show where I didn’t have a huge role, I didn’t know what to expect. And then of course that episode aired and my manager called, and I’ll never forget it, I was sitting on my boyfriend’s couch and she calls me in the morning after the episode aired and she was like, ‘The phone’s been ringing off the hook all morning. The phone won’t stop ringing!’

And all of a sudden, everyone in town wanted to meet with me and then I booked San Andreas. So no, I would have never expected that from that role. It was tactical, but not that tactical.

This role boosted her career beyond her wildest dreams as now every brand wanted to sponsor her, every casting director wanted to cast her, every magazine wanted to picture her, and she hasn’t looked back since.