‘Holy cow, this is a dream come true’: Meet the cast of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
It’s time to take a trip back to The White Lotus, Mike White‘s Emmy-winning anthology series that tackles class with an acerbic wit. Thailand is the destination for the highly anticipated third season, and an (almost) entirely new cast of characters is dipping its toes into the resort’s serene but deceptively dangerous waters.
The show’s become known for its mind-blowing twists, which are timed so expertly that speaking about any element of the plot could accidentally reveal too much. Aimee Lou Wood, who plays New Age-y guest Chelsea, the girlfriend of Walton Goggins‘ Rick, felt the pressure of keeping Season 3’s secrets locked up tight.
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“We knew everything,” Wood tells Gold Derby. “[It was a] big responsibility to have on our shoulders — big secrets, trying so hard not to give them away to my friends.”
Michelle Monaghan, whose character, Jaclyn, is on a tension-filled girls’ trip with Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon) at the resort, couldn’t believe the amount with which the actors were entrusted. “As soon as we were cast, all eight episodes turned up in our inbox. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is for real.’ Looking at that page, seeing ‘Season 3, The White Lotus, Mike White,’ you’re just like, ‘Holy cow, this is a dream come true.’ I binge-read it in eight hours and it was incredible. Of course, I was so shocked at the end, as we all will be when you watch it, but I was just like, ‘Holy s–t, man, [White]’s done it again.’ He masterfully does it. He just has such a keen way of tapping into human behavior, what’s in the zeitgeist, what’s going on in the world politically, socially. … It’s really a remarkable feat.”
Sarah Catherine Hook and Sam Nivola, who play Waspy siblings Piper and Lochlan, are still reeling from being cast in Season 3, which will see the return of Natasha Rothwell‘s Belinda from Season 1. “It was the most exciting and just bizarre thing to happen, honestly,” Hook says. “It’s just this huge phenomenon and the fact that you’re being asked to come join for the next adventure. … There are no words. It’s indescribable.”
“Totally surreal,” Nivola seconds.
Fabio Lovino/HBO
SEE The White Lotus Season 3 trailer: ‘What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand’
Thai cast members Tayme Thapthimtong and Lalisa Manobal were equally stunned about having major roles on the watercooler show as employees of the resort. “It’s like a dream come true,” says Manobal, who’s a giant star in the world of K-pop as a member of Blackpink. “For me, because I’m a huge fan of The White Lotus already, all of the experiences were really great. I’m so happy that I’m a part of this.”
“Getting to be two characters that are part of the main cast and getting to be the two actors to represent Thailand is such an honor,” Thapthimtong shares. “I’m so glad that we got to do this.”
Despite the stunning tropical setting, the environment proved challenging during filming. “There were times that we shot inside rooms and the AC couldn’t be on,” says Patrick Schwarzenegger, who plays Saxon, the incel-adjacent older brother to Piper and Lochlan. “And there were 40 people in there and the windows were dripping down, but then you got to jump in the pool afterward.”
Jason Isaacs had a bit more than sweat to contend with. As father to Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan, and husband to Parker Posey‘s hilarious Victoria, Isaacs’ character Timothy is on the family vacation from hell — except none of his family are privy to the reasons for his distress. “When I read [the script], I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can get there,'” says Isaacs. “Very often you go through whole films and television series and you’re doing things something like we would do in our life. You’re telling a great story, but Tim has some stuff that’s Big Ol’ Acting with capital letters. You’ve got to try to make it truthful. These are some fantastic actors, it’s a great script, if it doesn’t work it’s my fault, and I’ve got some hugely emotional things to carry off. I haven’t seen [the episodes] yet. I hope I did.”
Decide for yourself when The White Lotus Season 3 premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.
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