Alexa Davalos

Alexa Davalos Dunas (born May 28, 1982) is an American actress. Her early role as Gwen Raiden on the fourth season of the TV series ''Angel'' (2002–03) was followed by other television roles and some Hollywood films, including '' The Chronicles of Riddick'' (2004) and '' Defiance'' (2008). In the late 2010s, she starred as Juliana Crain, the main character in the Amazon Studios series '' The Man in the High Castle''. She also played Special Agent Kristin Gaines in the CBS drama series '' FBI: Most Wanted'' (2021–2023).

Early life

Davalos was born in Paris, France to American parents, photographer Jeff Dunas and actress Elyssa Davalos, granddaughter of actor Richard Davalos. Davalos spent most of her childhood in France and Italy, before settling in New York. She has stated "I tend to curse in French more often than I do in English."

She is of Spanish and Finnish descent on her mother's side. Her father's family is Jewish (her paternal ancestors lived in Vilnius in Lithuania). She was raised "without much religion", though she attended Hebrew school for a time.

Davalos struck out on her own at seventeen and moved to New York City. She supported herself by modeling for photographers like Peter Lindbergh. "I had a mission," she recalls. "I wanted to be out in the world, doing my own thing. Working in a theatre, I discovered that I really wanted to act." Her passion soon grew towards acting, and she attended the Off-Broadway Flea Theater in New York. She kept her acting plans from her family until her career started to take off.

Career

In 2002, Davalos co-starred with Charlie Hofheimer in the short film ''The Ghost of F. Scott Fitzgerald'', which screened at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival. She appeared as the superhuman Gwen Raiden in the television series ''Angel'' for three episodes, with which she nevertheless attracted attention. In September 2003, she was seen opposite Antonio Banderas in the HBO film ''And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself''. Davalos' breakthrough was in the 2004 science fiction film '' The Chronicles of Riddick,'' where she also made her feature film debut.

Davalos continued to act in Hollywood films. In 2007, she was featured in the romantic drama '' Feast of Love'', which starred Greg Kinnear and Morgan Freeman. She also played Sally in ''The Mist'' (directed by Frank Darabont), co-starring Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden and Marcia Gay Harden. In 2008, Davalos co-starred as the love interest of Daniel Craig in the war film '' Defiance'', directed by Edward Zwick. Her performance was praised by critics. Davalos played Andromeda in the remake of '' Clash of the Titans'', alongside Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson. The film received poor reviews but was a financial success. She did not return for the 2012 sequel, ''Wrath of the Titans'', due to a scheduling conflict.

In addition to her film roles, she also continued to appear in television series, including '' Reunion'' (2005–2006) and '' Mob City'' (2013). In the latter, she played the female lead and reunited again with Frank Darabont. However, these television series were short-lived. In 2015, Davalos started acting in '' The Man in the High Castle'' (2015–2019), an Amazon Studios series based on the Philip K. Dick novel of the same name. Starring as Juliana Crane, the main character of the series, she played the biggest role of her career up to that point. She then made a brief appearance in ''The Punisher'', along with star Jon Bernthal; both of whom were also in ''Mob City''. In the early 2020s, Davalos had a regular role in two seasons of the CBS crime series '' FBI: Most Wanted'' as Special Agent Kristin Gaines.

Personal life

Davalos is a close friend of actresses Amanda Righetti and Chyler Leigh, and was Righetti's bridesmaid at her wedding. Davalos considers herself to be a "dork" and loves to travel and read. She guards her private life stating, "I think it's a choice. I think it's a conscious choice, and what you allow to affect you and what you don't."

Davalos married actor Josh Stewart on May 19, 2019. Both were co-stars on the second season of the Netflix series ''The Punisher''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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Alexa Davalos
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davalos, Alexa
Actresses from New York City
American film actresses
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
American expatriates in France
American television actresses
Jewish American actresses
Living people
21st-century American actresses
American people of Finnish descent
American people of Spanish descent
American expatriates in Italy
21st-century American Jews
1982 births
Actresses from Paris