Michelle Monaghan defends True Detective

Michelle Monaghan says all the True Detective characters are "lost souls".

The actress starred as Maggie Hart in the dark crime series, which also featured Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The majority of female characters in the show are prostitutes or sexually promiscuous, but Michelle doesn't think it promotes misogyny.

"No, I'd disagree," she told British magazine Stylist. "They're telling a particular story in a particular place at a particular time. I think the women as well as the men are portrayed as lost souls."

While the 38-year-old is now an actress, she previously harboured a dream of becoming a journalist. Had she completed her journalism degree, Michelle knows what kind of job she would be doing now.

"Investigative journalism," she stated. "I like non-fiction, I'm not a creative writer. Although - I think a lot of journalism nowadays is creative writing... [laughs]. But righting the wrongs of the world is what I'd be interested in. I have an idealistic point of view."

The first season of True Detective came to an end last month and has been renewed for a second, with a new cast.

Michelle knew what she was letting herself in for from the start.

"Unlike a lot of TV, we received the scripts for all eight episodes when we were asked to do the show," she explained. "That was helpful in knowing exactly how dark Maggie was going to be. That's what appealed to me the most; this woman was a slow burn. As the story opens, you think you have a good idea of who she is, then as the show progresses, you see that there's more than meets the eye."