Alexa Davalos was born in Paris, France, to American parents, Jeff Dunas, a photographer, and Elyssa Davalos, an actress. Her father's family were Jewish immigrants (from Russia and Lithuania). After a quintessentially bohemian childhood that found her straddling New York, Paris, Italy and Los Angeles, Alexa Davalos headed to Manhattan. In the Big Apple, she instantly snagged lucrative assignments as a photographer's model for the likes of Peter Lindbergh, then discovered an inborn passion for acting and decided to make it the focus of her life.
Born into a family of performers - her grandfather Richard Davalos starred alongside James Dean in Al Este del Edén (1955) - in 2002, Davalos turned her focus to acting and migrated to Los Angeles and began signing for guest parts on series such as Ángel (1999) and Undeclared (2001). Her big break arrived when producers selected her to play "Kyra", the heroine in the 2004 futuristic fantasy vehicle Las crónicas de Riddick (2004), starring Vin Diesel. Davalos next took on a prominent role as "Samantha" on the high-concept mystery-period series Reunion (2005). When the highly-touted series failed to catch on with viewers and was canceled after half a season, Davalos bounced back with a convincing portrayal as Diane Keaton's daughter in the well-received made-for-television feature Surrender, Dorothy (2006). The following year, Davalos stepped up several notches with a lead role in Robert Benton's much-anticipated drama El juego del amor(2007) -- an ensemble piece about a free-spirited woman who arrives in a small Northwestern town and recolors the life of everyone she meets. Also, in 2007, Davalos appeared in the Stephen King horror adaptation La niebla de Stephen King (2007).
Alexa continued her ascent in Hollywood by being cast in Edward Zwick's Resistencia(2008), released in 2008, as "Lilka", Daniel Craig's love interest. Her haunting beauty and spirited performance garnered raves from critics. In 2009, Alexa was cast in the much coveted lead role of "Andromeda" in Louis Leterrier's Furia de titanes (2010), alongside Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. Alexa is, without a doubt, one of Hollywood's fastest rising young stars.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ben's fan.
Trivia
She is the daughter of actress Elyssa Davalos.
Speaks French and English.
Is an only child
Granddaughter of actor Richard Davalos.
Niece of Dominique Davalos.
She was Amanda Righetti's bridesmaid at her April 29, 2006 wedding. This is well documented in InStyle Magazine which covered the event in Hawaii.
Alexa was born in Paris, France, to American parents. She speaks some French.
Her father's family is Ashkenazi Jewish (from Russia and Vilnius, Lithuania).
Attended the Flea Theatre in New York.
Parents divorced when she was 8.
Gained a huge cult fan base following her guest starring role as Gwen on Ángel (1999), in fact she even has a Gwen action figure.
Personal Quotes
I don't really have any expectations. For me, it's all about falling in love with a project and being as present and open as you can while filming it. But once you get on the plane at the end of filming, it's out of your hands. - On her acting career.
I grew up very comfortable in this bizarre, circus-like existence, but, as comfortable as I was, I was also aware of the struggles that actors go through. A lot of people who come into the profession with these romantic expectations aren't being very realistic. And because I often saw the other side of that dream, I avoided acting like the plague at first.
My normal life is, I love to travel and I travel as often as I can. I don't stay in one place too long. But I'm an avid reader, I guess you could say, I'm a bit of a bookworm.
I tend to curse in French more often than I do in English.
[on the season four episode "Players" of "Angel"] The third episode I did most of my work with J. [August Richards], and we had so much fun it was hard to believe. He's fantastic and I so adore him. We would sing between takes and do sit ups.
[on her character Gwen Raiden in "Angel"]: Oh my god! We can all agree she's unlike any other character. The electrical power is just part of it. I thought, "Wow! How fun would that be?" She also fascinated me because Gwen has this tough outer shell, and yet on the inside she's incredibly scared and insecure after growing up "as a freak," as she says. That duplicity of being very insecure on one hand and incredibly strong on the exterior is what attracted me.
... Because she had this super power, which was so inhuman and something we can't relate to, it was a challenge to incorporate that into her and yet make Gwen feel like a real person. I didn't want people to see her as this odd, alien-like woman without a sense of being human. She was very much a regular girl with this distinctly odd ability -- and curse -- in many ways.
[on Gwen's wardrobe during Gwen and Angel's second fight in the season four episode "Ground State" of "Angel"] It was an absolute nightmare. The red leather pants were one thing, but the latex top was like wearing a balloon. It is incredibly hot to wear plastic, but it suited Gwen. It almost became comical at moments. I'm wearing these tight, unique pieces, and to choreograph the fights was very funny.
To be perfectly honest with you, having a mother as an actress -- who I watched struggle tremendously during my childhood -- and to watch fluctuations of ups and downs is difficult. She did mainly television, so I think I associated that with a life of inconsistency. As I've come into my own, I realize it has nothing to do with the medium. It has broadened my horizons in my own mind and ultimately it is about the character for me. If I read something and I fall in love with the character, no matter what it is, I'm eager to do it. That is what happened with Gwen [on "Angel"].
[on what she looks for in a role, and if she worried about being typecast "as a sci-fi or fantasy actor" early on]: We all do a few things that you kind of look back on and think, no one will remember that; that will be fine. It's being young and finding your way with everything. The older I get, for me it's about fear. If I read something and it scares the hell out of me, that's what I want to do. If it's a challenge and a massive risk and I'm going out on a limb ... those are the ones I want. And they are few and far between. I don't work very much because I'm very specific about what I want to do.
[on what occupies her when away from work]: I'm such a hermit, I can't tell you. I love my garden (in Los Angeles). I spend a lot of time there. I travel. My heart really is in New York, in France. I go back as often as I can afford to. I read like a crazy person, I play the piano and I'm a photographer. I always say my photography keeps me sane. I spend a lot of time in the darkroom. It's a very solitary, quiet life when I'm not working.
[on what music she listens to]: Sidney Bechet. I'm an old-timey gal. I have my granddad's record collection, which I treasure, and my father's - Rolling Stones to Sidney Bechet.
