Meghann Fahy (‘The White Lotus’) on Daphne’s ‘biggest turning point’: ‘That’s so insane!’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
One of the stand-outs of “The White Lotus” Season 2 is Meghann Fahy, whose character Daphne Sullivan travels to Sicily with her husband Cameron (Theo James) and another couple. As the season progressed, more and more juicy layers got peeled back about her character. “It was a pretty special experience,” Fahy explains about uncovering new details about Daphne. “We got all of the scripts at the same time and I read them all sort of just in one sitting because, I mean, how could you take a break?” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Fahy confirms that she was “such a fan” of Season 1, which won 10 Emmy Awards last year for HBO in the limited series categories, including three for showrunner Mike White as the producer, writer and director. This time around, the show is entering the drama categories at the 2023 Emmys for the Sicily-set installment that aired last fall.
“It was really interesting to see the progression of the character of Daphne,” Fahy tells me. “I think for her, the biggest turning point is in Episode 5 when she’s talking to Harper [Aubrey Plaza] about the trainer, and then after that, it’s sort of off to the races.” She’s referring to the eye-popping moment when Daphne slyly reveals that Cameron may not be the father of her child.
The ambiguity of the scene is “what’s so good about the way that Mike wrote it,” she notes. “I knew when we were shooting it what she was inferring or just actually blatantly saying, I guess. But that’s what’s so special about the way that Mike presented it to the audience … ’cause you’re also kind of like, she couldn’t possibly be saying that. That’s so insane!”
Another moment that had “The White Lotus” fans buzzing took place in the finale between Daphne and Ethan (Will Sharpe). So did the characters hook up, or did they just walk off together? “Well, you know, there was no sort of decision made about that,” the actress confesses. “Even with Mike, he kind of was like, ‘I’m not really sure.'” Fahy adds that she “spoke about it” with Sharpe and they ultimately agreed that “something physical had happened,” but they didn’t necessarily know if they’d “really sealed the deal or if it was just other stuff.”
Fahy was “really, really surprised” when she opened up the script for Episode 1 and saw that Daphne was the first character audiences met. “I was really looking forward to being able to shoot that scene where I’m in the water and I find the body. I had never filmed something similar to that.” The actress personally didn’t have any theories about whose body might be floating in the ocean, but since she’s the one who found it, she laughs, “I’m not the person who dies. At least I have that piece of information.”
Also in our exclusive video interview, Fahy talks about winning at the SAG Awards, what it would mean to her to score her first career Emmy nomination, and which “White Lotus” cast members she wishes she would have had more scenes with.
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