Ideally, she’ll tick off her travel bucket list. “I really want to go to Iceland or Alaska or Norway and see the Northern Lights,” she says. “January 1 is unfortunately a terrible time to see them because it’s so overcast, but something like that. Something magical. But even if we’re just having dinner at home, that’s still magical to me, and singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at midnight. It’s an opportunity to get together, collectively welcoming the new year. It’s a nice feeling, like a big meditation.”

Mayfair Magic

Another reason for Alex to celebrate the new year is her new series, Mayfair Witches, airing on AMC+ in early 2023. Based on the similarly titled Anne Rice trilogy, it’s a gothic, supernatural horror/ fantasy set in a nightmarish New Orleans, where a shape-shifting spirit named Lasher lurks in the shadows, women mysteriously “jump” from balconies, masquerade parties lead to paranormal sex and family members aren’t who they seem. Alex stars as Rowan Mayfair, a strong-willed neurosurgeon who feels herself coming into a deadly, dark power.

But this isn’t your typical monster mash-up. “Anne Rice is an incredibly detailed and layered writer, her novels are intense and out-of-the-box, and I think that’s why people love them so much,” says Alex. “When you put the dysfunction of human beings and all of our jealousy and lust and rage and grief and love, when you put all of that together and add magic powers or special circumstances, it creates a fascinating story. So, diving into this show, the twists and turns and offbeat things that happen were fun to play and so different than anything I’ve done, and we embrace the Anne Rice of it all, if that makes sense.”

Looking ahead, Alex, who has been in the business 20-plus years, is laser-focused. “What I’m really drawn to now using this new opportunity to do different kinds of work is, does someone have a unique personal story to tell, or what kind of work has this director done before? Todd Field, I’m obsessed with him as a director. He did In the Bedroom and Little Children and has a new movie [Tár], with Cate Blanchett. When you watch those movies you go, ‘Oh my God, how amazing would it be to be on that set, telling that story?’ That really gets me excited. I would love to do a small part in a movie with him. But you have to find exactly the right fit. That’s always the goal.”