On Set of ‘Mayfair Witches’ With Alexandra Daddario and Alyssa Jirrels: Rowan’s Relationships, Their Bond

“It was nice,” says Daddario of the couple-y moments. “It was always interesting to go back and do the scenes with Ben, and we joked every scene we had because he’d be coming in and be like, ‘What’s going on?!’ It was just a different kind of thing when I got to work with Ben.”

“I am interested in her relationships with men,” the actress continues. “I think that it reflects her desire for power and control over people. Except for Lasher (Jack Huston), she has typically been the person in a relationship that always has the upper hand.”

Related

'Mayfair Witches' Boss Reveals Next Immortal Universe Crossover

There may be another fella added to that list, however. The second half of the hour saw Rowan and cousin Moira (Alyssa Jirrels) skedaddling over to Dolly Jean’s (Charlayne Woodard) house, where they witnessed her in some sort of trance, dancing with an unseen someone. Busted by Aunt Evelyn (K. Steele), the ladies soon learned that Dolly Jean was “in” Julien Mayfair’s victrola, to which the family’s demented patriarch had bound himself before dying “so that our passion could continue indefinitely.” Yep, their passion…these ladies share Julien. “We take turns,” Evelyn explained before bringing her sister back from the land of the dead.

Could it be that Julien (Ted Levine) is their key to stopping Lasher, who is now in the hands of the Talamasca? That was the discussion around Dolly Jean’s dining-room table and it was also the scene we were in New Orleans to observe. And while the talk was serious, the set was anything but.

“That was a great day,” recalls Jirrels when I mention how feminist the scene is, centering it on the power of these women, rather than Julien. “And we were there for a while [filming]. Rowan and I, and Dolly Jean and Evelyn, just having a great time, really. Those two women — I mean, Alex included as well — but Charlayne and K. Steele are incredible actresses. There was also the going from younger-to-older element, which was really fun to watch.”

The exterior of the home of Jackson Ave.

Tucked away inside a massive home on New Orleans’ Jackson Avenue (across from Buckner Mansion, better known as Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies from American Horror Story: Coven), the actresses shot countless takes from the POV of each character, while director Sarah O’Gorman would intermittently step in to suggest tweaks. What you don’t see during the sequence, however, is a crew of probably more than 100 standing just beyond the dining-room entry, in the home’s living room where the victrola sat, in the hallways and on the back porch, all out of camera’s sight. Each time “Cut” was called, Jirrels, Daddario, Steele, and Woodward would drop the witchy intensity and either joke around with one another or ask about angles and pacing.

Skip Bolen/AMC

Obviously, things took a grim turn after Moira laid her hands on the victrola and ended up being shorted-out by her psychic abilities channeling some evil force within it. But Jirrels feels that the hour’s perilous events also allowed her character to tap into her snarkier side and reshape the relatives’ previously antagonistic dynamic. Basically, finding common ground between the earthy (Moira) and the ethereal (Rowan).

The living room of the home used in the episode was entirely redecorated for filming. Down to the wallpaper!

“This episode is so fun because it’s where I started feeling like, logically, if a human being is going through as much sh*t as Moira is going through, you’d have to start to break out the humor a little bit,” she points out. “That’s where a bit of the sort of buddy-cop vibe [between the cousins] comes from…I think that I started feeling in that episode.”

Adding “I love Alex,” Jirrels says that the two “had such a good time” shooting the season’s early episodes because it gave them the chance to develop their fractured familial bond. “That was my favorite part of the show, honestly,” she says. “There was probably three weeks in total where it was just like me and Alex every single day in hot New Orleans, just literally gabbing. We were really annoying, honestly. We annoyed people because she started getting really into playing me music that she liked. She would be playing music through her iPhone and then they’d be like, ‘OK, action!’ and she would still be singing [Scottish band] Frightened Rabbit.”

For her part, Daddario sees the potential for another Immortal Universe series. “I would always be coming up with ideas for spinoff shows where it’s Rowan and Moira living in a house,” she laughs. “Maybe a Three’s Company where there’s constant banter and we hate each other, but we like each other. We’re at our best when we are kind of siblings in high school, stealing each other’s clothes and being annoyed with each other.”

Skip Bolen/AMC

Given that Rowan does make her way into Julien’s realm next week, a sitcom escape after that lil’ face-off will likely be very welcome. Especially with Dolly Jean’s warning that “you go in there, you’re at his mercy.”

Mayfair Witches, Sundays, 9/8c, AMC