Acting in the latest edition of 鈥淭he White Lotus鈥 is like 鈥渓iving inside a screensaver,鈥 says star Natasha Rothwell.
Because it was shot in Thailand, the drama gave her 鈥 and others in the cast 鈥 a real sense of the spirituality that envelops the country.
鈥淚t was very authentic,鈥 says Rothwell, who plays Belinda, the White Lotus staffer from the first season. 鈥淚 had spent a year in Tokyo in my 20s, but I鈥檇 never been to Thailand, and this was my first time there. What I learned was that Thailand has never been colonized. To be shooting and working in a country that isn鈥檛 constantly trying to heal from historical trauma, you feel that lightness, you feel that acceptance. You feel that peace.鈥
That helped set the tone for a look at religion and spirituality, says Mike White, the series鈥 creator, and seemed like the perfect welcome mat for a group of tourists rocked by chaos.
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In addition to Belinda 鈥 who鈥檚 the series鈥 glue this season 鈥 there鈥檚 a rich Southern family (led by Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey), three lifelong friends (Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan and Leslie Bigg), a combative couple (Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood) and resort workers who have their own dramas to consider.
White鈥檚 goal was to continue the discussion about the differences that divide people. Class and culture got an airing in the first season; sex and gender politics emerged in the second. Now with religion in the third, there鈥檚 a chance to look at people 鈥渨anting to be their ideal self鈥 and revealing 鈥渢he base kind of animal creatures that they can be,鈥 White says.
That divide can emerge from a simple conversation 鈥 as the three friends discover 鈥 or from a night of debauchery aboard a yacht 鈥 as two brothers, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola, learn.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a petri dish,鈥 Nivola says of the resort. 鈥淵ou just plop us in where we have to be so close 鈥 hit play, and see what happens.鈥
Particularly in later episodes, those facades drop and true identities begin to emerge.
A reason to return
For Belinda, the Thailand trip is an opportunity to gain back what she lost. In the first season, Jennifer Coolidge鈥檚 character promised to set her up in her own business, then reneged. That left her with a hollow feeling and forced her to regroup. Now, in Thailand, she might find that missing sense of worth.
White was interested in bringing the character back after the first season because there was so much he didn鈥檛 get to explore. 鈥淧eople were bummed by Belinda鈥檚 final moments in the first season where everybody鈥檚 off and she鈥檚 still working at the hotel and her dreams were dashed,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 was just like, 鈥業t鈥檇 be fun to maybe give Belinda another chapter and work with Natasha again.鈥欌
Rothwell didn鈥檛 need to be persuaded to rejoin.
She met with him while he was shooting the second season and he said, 鈥淚 think I might want to bring Belinda back.鈥
鈥淚 was like, 鈥楽ay less. I鈥檒l be there,鈥欌 Rothwell recalls.
Separation is key
To make the separate stories work, White shot scenes involving the three friends first. That gave the actresses a chance to explore the tenuous ties that apparently bind them. The three shared childhood pictures before they went to Thailand and tried to find common ground.
鈥淲e were all shot out of a cannon at the same time together,鈥 Bibb says. 鈥淲ho you were when you were growing up and who you鈥檝e become can be very different people.鈥 In the story, they see how time has divided them. 鈥淐an we still love each other if we have some differing views? Is it more important to have that foundation where somebody really knows you or is it better to just have new friends?鈥
The three get the opportunity to explore both worlds.
Too close for comfort
The brothers get their 鈥渁-ha鈥 moments, too.
Schwarzenegger thought his character might just be a 鈥渇rat boy douche鈥 until White pointed out some significant differences. He also told him, 鈥淚t鈥檚 OK if they don鈥檛 change鈥ot everyone changes in a week.鈥
Some of the character鈥檚 reactions are so out there, Schwarzenegger says, he may have to leave the room when his family watches the series. 鈥淭here鈥檚 some uncomfortable conversations (between brothers) in the bed that are a little weird to show in front of your family,鈥 he explains. 鈥淓pisodes five and six, there鈥檒l be some times that I take some bathroom breaks when (watching with the family) 鈥 or maybe I won鈥檛 watch that episode with them.鈥
As luxurious as the resort was, the actors say the real lure was White鈥檚 writing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very rare that you come across writing that is so three-dimensional,鈥 Isaacs says. 鈥淎nd Mike rather brilliantly introduces what seem like one-dimensional characters and adds things to them, peels the layers away and put them in impossible, pressure-cooker situations until the only thing that can emerge is their essential humanity.鈥
Rothwell extols White鈥檚 work as director. 鈥淗e鈥檚 so open in collaborating and he鈥檚 very aware he鈥檚 not a black woman,鈥 she says. 鈥淪o, to be able to work with him on pages and pitch ideas to help ground the character鈥t鈥檚 such a dream. It鈥檚 an honor to get to play her and it鈥檚 also been an honor to sort of collaborate in the 别虫别肠耻迟颈辞苍.鈥
鈥淭he White Lotus,鈥 season three, is now airing on HBO/MAX.
