In addition to her film work, Embeth Davidtz has established herself as a consistent presence on the small screen, with multi-episode arcs on shows like "Mad Men," "In Treatment," and "Californication." But starting in 2013, Davidtz largely took a break from acting, with her 2016 appearance on Showtime's "Ray Donovan" being "the first time I really got back into the pool again," per an interview with Vulture. The reason for the break is that, in 2013, Davidtz was diagnosed with breast cancer.
As she told Vulture, her treatment went well and allowed her to recover, but it also left her body changed. The role of Sonia Kovitzky, an art dealer fronting for Russian drug dealers, was Davidtz's first since undergoing treatment, and, instead of covering it up, she and producer David Hollander worked to incorporate her medical history and mastectomy into the show, including a sex scene where Sonia confronted protagonist Ray (Liev Schreiber) about whether he was still able to find her beautiful in light of the changes imposed on her body by cancer. ThinkProgress called it "a captivating scene that is unabashedly sexual and honest," and Davidtz's contribution helped elevate Season 4 of "Ray Donovan," which was praised for its newfound focus on women's issues.
Since then, Davidtz has been able to dive further back into acting, with a guest spot on Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show" and a role in the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan film "Old."
