The last day has caused a whirlwind of emotions among Meghann Fahy fans. Just hours after the 32-year-old actor starred in ‘The White LotusIn the Season 2 finale, she was left out of the 2023 Golden Globes nominations announced on December 12. Though the HBO show ended up receiving four nominations total — three for supporting cast members Jennifer Coolidge, Aubrey Plaza, and F. Murray Abraham, and a fourth for the series as a whole — Fahy’s snub is particularly poignant after her latest nod as Daphne Sullivan.
In season two of The White Lotus, Fahy portrays the Aperol Spritz-gulping, PDA-showing, edible, “Ted Lasso”-eating wife to fund brother Cameron (Theo James). On the surface, Daphne is a rich, airy housewife unaffected by worldly afflictions — so much so that she can’t even remember if she voted in the last election — but if you like those Pucci bikinis and floral sundresses undress, it is much more complex. Fahy brings these complexities to life with the utmost care, capturing the emotions with her linework and facial expressions.
In episode three, we begin to see a glimpse of Daphne’s depth when she kidnaps Harper (Plaza) to Noto, where they stay in a spacious palazzo that she secretly rents out for the night. She and Harper have a heart-to-heart talk, during which she admits Cameron cheated on her and shares her coping mechanism: doing whatever the hell she wants. “I’m not a victim,” she says matter-of-factly while lounging on a plush couch. Two episodes later, she hints that she has mirrored Cameron’s infidelity by possibly having a child with her attractive fitness trainer.
In the seventh and final episode, we see Daphne’s effervescent facade momentarily reappear during Fahy’s most standout scene of the season. When Ethan (Will Sharpe) approaches her with concerns that Harper and Cameron have been hooked up, her eyes register a dizzying array of emotions – shock, sadness, disappointment, desire for revenge – within seconds, before finally declaring, “I’m moving Don’t think you have anything to worry about.” She immediately slips back into Daphne’s characteristic nonchalance, adding lightly, “I’m a mystery to myself. Honestly, I surprise myself all the time.” It’s clear, that Daphne is on a mission to enjoy her vacation at a Sicilian resort, dammit, her cheating husband.
Of course, The White Lotus isn’t the first time Fahy has garnered attention on screen — she has previously starred in Freeform’s The Bold Type, daytime soap opera One Life to Live, and the Hallmark Channel film Just Add Romance. . .” To date, her biggest awards ceremony includes a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Summer TV Actor. She has yet to deal with her recent Golden Globes snub, but based on a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, we have a feeling she’s just as undisturbed as Daphne. “I don’t have big dreams of winning fancy awards or being a famous person. I just love making things,” she told the publication for its December issue.
Still, Fahy fans are decidedly unhappy with her snub. A plethora of screenshots from the finale is currently flooding Twitter alongside passionate messages about her incredible performance on the show. “Meghann Fahy is SO good an actor. That 30 seconds of Daphne processing her husband’s affair (and then calculating how she’s going to get back at him) is perfect,” said one viewer wrote alongside a video of her character’s aforementioned conversation with Ethan. Another Twitter user added“Meghann Fahy deserves to be cast in everything after her performance as Daphne in season 2 of White Lotus, but mostly because of this absolutely brilliant, devastating and subtle acting moment right here.” Perhaps in season three of “The White Lotus” reappearing and finally getting the awards season flowers she deserves.
