It’s a TV phenomenon! Since its debut in 2021, Neon’s The White Lotus has won two Golden Globes and six Emmys. The black comedy – about stonkingly rich people at stonkingly expensive holiday resorts – reignited the career of Jennifer Coolidge and has launched the careers of many other actors, including Bridget Jones star Leo Woodall. We take a look at some of season three’s stars to see who might get The White Lotus tick of Hollywood approval next.
Morgana O’Reilly
New Zealand’s very own Morgana plays “health butler” Pam in this season, which is set in an exclusive Thai resort. She has the challenging job of trying to enforce the hotel’s “no cell phones” policy, which isn’t exactly embraced by all the guests.
Mum-of-two Morgana, 39, has made a name for herself in New Zealand, appearing in everything from Mean Mums to Friends Like Her. When she was told she’d landed her role in The White Lotus, she didn’t quite believe it. “I really thought it was a scam for a while there,” she laughs.
Aimee Lou Wood
Aimee Lou’s biggest acting success – by far – up till now has been her role in the rollicking Netflix comedy Sex Education. While studying at London’s prestigious RADA acting school, she was told to tone down her native Manchester accent. When she auditioned for The White Lotus, though, it was a different story.
“My character was meant to be American and then I did a self-tape, one in an American accent and one in my own,” she says. “They were like, ‘Yeah, we want your own voice.’” In The White Lotus – which has catapulted her into a new strata of fame – Aimee Lou, 30, plays Chelsea, a free spirit holidaying with her grumpy, much older boyfriend. She’s also currently starring in the Netflix miniseries Toxic Town.
Lalisa Manobal
She’s already a massive K-pop sensation, known as Lisa. Now Lalisa has made her acting debut in the hottest TV show in town! She plays health mentor Mook, who gets romantic with one of the resort’s security guards.
The 27-year-old Thai singer is part of the hugely successful Korean all-girl pop group Blackpink. She’s performed in stadiums all over the world, but Lalisa says she was so overwrought with nerves when it came to acting, she relied on her co-star Tayme Thapthimthong, who plays her love interest Gaitok, to tell her, “You can do this! You’ve got nothing to be nervous about!”
Patrick Schwarzenegger
Patrick is the son of Hollywood great Arnold, 77. His role as cocky Saxton Ratliff in The White Lotus is his biggest career breakthrough to date.
The 31-year-old says he caught the acting bug “early, of course, given who my dad is” but he’s had to do the hard yards, being an extra and getting rejected for meatier parts on a regular basis. He says he loved playing “douche” Saxton, who refers to himself in the third person and goes into meltdown when he can’t find a blender for his protein shake. “He’s obviously absurd,” he says.
Parker Posey
Don’t get us wrong. Parker, 56, already has a sparkling acting career. She’s known as the “Queen of Indies” for her long resumé of independent films and she also got a big thumbs-up for her scene-stealing performances as Dr Smith in Netflix’s Lost in Space remake.
Despite all that, she’s never managed to go mainstream. “Hollywood just doesn’t know what to do with me. And it’s not for lack of trying,” she lamented a couple of years ago. In The White Lotus, she plays pill-popping family matriarch Victoria Ratliff. Pundits are predicting it might be just the thing to turbo-charge her career, Coolidge-style.
Nicholas Duvernay
It’s shaping up to be a big year for Nicholas. The native New Yorker, 25, is a new kid on the block in the acting world – but his is the first human face fans see in the opening moments of the new season of The White Lotus.
He plays Zion, the hunky son of spa manager Belinda Lindsey. “It was the Super Bowl of everything,” says Nicholas of the seven-month shoot on the island of Ko Samui. His mum had a hunch he was going to land the role, despite only having a handful of acting credits to his name.
“She was like, ‘Just set your phone up during the call and record. It could be one of those big calls where you get the job and I want to see your reaction.’ And I was like, ‘Mum, it’s not going to be one of those calls, but whatever. I’ll give you your video.’ And it was the call!”
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