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Executive Producer/Writer Nic Pizzolatto, actors Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Monaghan, Woody Harrelson and Executive Producer/Director Cary Fukunaga at the 2014 Winter TCA in Pasadena, California.
"The director character in Episode 3 was absolutely not meant to represent or allude to Cary in any way," Pizzolatto told Variety.
Why would such a theory exist?
It's public knowledge that Pizzolatto and Fukunaga bumped heads on the show's first season in which the "Beasts of No Nation" director helmed every episode. Plus, the character, a demanding director named Ashley Daison, was portrayed by Asian actor Philip Moon and Fukunaga's father is Japanese-American.
Getty Images, HBO "True Detective's" Cary Fukunaga, left, with Philip Moon on the right.
"The actor [Philip Moon] was hired because I was a fan of his from 'Deadwood,' and he arrived with the look he had," the producer told the trade. "I have the utmost respect for Cary, and I look forward to his new picture."
When Variety asked Fukunaga if he was aware of the theory, he said he was and then dismissed it.
"I have friends on the crew who told me about it. What's there to make of it?" Fukunaga said with a laugh.