One of TV's most salacious, sardonic and self-aware shows, The White Lotus, is back for a third outing. The destination this time? Thailand. Known and loved for its clever storytelling around the toxic privilege of the rich, and the delusion and defensiveness that comes with that, the anthology series is really like no other.
Just like the previous two seasons, The White Lotus season 3 boasts an incredible cast, including Blackpink star Lisa, Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Tayme Thapthimthong.
But GLAMOUR is most excited about the return of Natasha Rothwell to the universe – after starring as Belinda in season one – and the casting of Sex Education superstar Aimee Lou Wood.
It explores a real-life woman's sexual odyssey after a cancer diagnosis.
Aimee and Natasha sat down with GLAMOUR to talk about the new season, Aimee's immersion in her toxic relationship storyline and the ways in which Natasha's character Belinda finds empowerment in her return to The White Lotus.
GLAMOUR: Aimee, what drew you to your role in The White Lotus?
Aimee: Well, I'm a fan. I loved the first two seasons so much and I wanted to be in it. I'm not a very intentional person in life. I'm quite a passenger. I've realised I need to change that. I go with the flow quite a lot. But one of the only things I've ever said I really wanted was to be in The White Lotus, but I didn't know how I would fit. I was looking at it and I was like, "I don't know where I would fit in this world." And then I got my audition through for Chelsea and I was like, "Oh my gosh."
Natasha: When you were cast, I lost my sh*t…
Aimee: We love each other.
Natasha: We do, and it's not a quiet obsession. I'm obsessed.
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Natasha: I didn't audition. This is the difference between season one White Lotus and season three White Lotus. [Filming season one], no one knew what it was, and we were shooting pandemic, pre-vaccination, so we're all just happy to be working. We didn't know it was going to turn into what it is now. I don't think I could get an audition for it now, so I'm glad I got in when I did.
Aimee [to Natasha]: When you read the [season one] script, were you like, "Oh, shit, this could be really good"?
Natasha: I did, but I think for me, so much of Belinda is this quiet internal struggle, and so much of what I think made the role what it is is how it was shot. Especially in season one, the visual storytelling was exceptional, and Mike [White, The White Lotus creator and director] is so good with that. It's totally different now, now it's like White Lotus capitalised.
Aimee: Yeah, and that's a bit scary as well, isn't it?
Natasha: Yeah.
Aimee: It's the first time I've ever been in something that I'm a fan of already, and you just have to forget about it, don't you? You have to turn up. And it's quite helpful because my character doesn't really know what The White Lotus is, so I have to just be like, "Well, Chelsea doesn't know, so Aimee can't know." Chelsea doesn't know what the resort is, and it kind of helped me not think about the show, actually.
Natasha: I love that.
GLAMOUR: Natasha, do you feel like your character Belinda is more empowered this season?
Natasha: I think this season Belinda is more empowered. I think we also see her as a guest at The White Lotus, and I think that so much of her introduction to that world was through hospitality. And so we get to see her as a person outside of the work mask, and we get to see her unmask in that way, which is really cool.
GLAMOUR: Aimee, it seems like your character Chelsea has a bit of a toxic partner and relationship. What was that like to play for you, and why was that role appealing to you?
Aimee: So the thing that I love about Chelsea is that she's definitely in this quite toxic dynamic, probably quite dysfunctional, but I had to not see it from that angle at all, because to her she's romantic with a capital R, and to her it is true love. So I just have to play it from that angle, and that was actually very freeing, because I love Esther Perel, I love talking about how to make relationships healthy and communicative and safe. And so it's quite fun to go for a little while, delete all that…
Natasha: All that safety.
Aimee: All that wisdom and all that. Just delete it and play it from this. She believes in the cosmos and she believes in fate. And so just play that… You can play these people that might have such different values to you, but you can't judge them. You have to be on their side.
Natasha: I just can't wait for you guys to see how pure her performance is and how grounded. She's a vision.
Aimee: It's actually weird playing that for such a long time, the tunnel vision of just someone who just wants to make the other person happy, and you know it's just an impossible feat…
The White Lotus alumna Natasha challenged newcomer Aimee to GLAMOUR's How Well Do You Know The White Lotus Universe Quiz…
Aimee: I think I'm going to be pretty good. Famous last words.
GLAMOUR: Quietly confident then?
Aimee: Yeah. Not so quietly. Loudly confident.
Natasha: Loudly confident… What iconic role did Jennifer Coolidge play in season one and season two?
Aimee: Tanya.
Natasha: That is correct. Where was season two filmed?
Aimee: Sicily.
Natasha: Correct!
Natasha: What was my character, Belinda's big mission in Season One?
Aimee: She wanted to open up her own spa.
Natasha: Okay. Who took Belinda under their wing Season One, giving her false hope about her big mission?
Aimee: Tanya… How dare she?
Natasha: I mean, truly.
Aimee: How dare she? Team Belinda. Team Belinda. Everyone's Team Belinda.
Natasha: How many Emmys has The White Lotus won?
Aimee: Ooh, now that one's a hard question.
Natasha: That's a hard one.
Aimee: There's been a million nominations. I reckon it's won quite a few. I'm just going to guess eight.
Natasha: Five.
Aimee: Five? Okay.
Natasha: Yeah. In the ballpark. Which two co-stars met on the set of season two and are still together today?
Aimee: Leo [Woodall] and Meghann [Fahy].
Natasha: Done and done. Correct. Sydney Sweeney wore her own _____ as Olivia on the show…
Aimee: I know she did her own hair…
Natasha: It's an accessory.
Aimee: Necklace?
Natasha: No.
Aimee: No? What was it?
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Natasha: Her own glasses. When Tanya is dressed up in her pink outfit, who does the White Lotus manager say she looks like?
Aimee: Oh. Ms. Piggy?
Natasha: Peppa Pig.
Aimee: Oh, yes… That's even funnier.
Natasha: What reality show did the White Lotus costume designer base Leo Woodall's character Jack's outfits on.
Aimee: It's got to be Love Island.
Natasha: Oh, 100%. I'm about to start the All Stars season. Ekin-Su is back. I'm so excited.
Aimee: I don't know she is.
Natasha: It's okay.
Aimee: I need to watch it, and I know that Ekin-Su's a legend.
Natasha: How does the hotel manager Armond, shortly before his untimely death, get revenge on his season one nemesis, Shane?
Aimee: He poos.
Natasha: Yeah.
Aimee: On the floor? Or in a bag. In a suitcase. In a suitcase.
Natasha: Correct.
Aimee: Yeah.
Natasha: All points awarded.
Aimee: Thank you.
Natasha: He poops in a suitcase.
Aimee: It's iconic.
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Natasha: It's so iconic. Who does Meghann Fahy's character Daphne have a potential intimate moment with? And the hint is it's a character that isn't her husband.
Aimee: Is it Will Sharp's character?
Natasha: Yeah.
Aimee: Yeah, they have a little ... and it's kind of left ambiguous, isn't it?
Natasha: Mm-hmm.
Aimee: Yeah.
Natasha: Who said "These gays are trying to murder me" in what scene?
Aimee: Tanya said it.
Natasha: That's right.
Aimee: In one of the best sequences of all time, the boat sequence in season two.
Natasha: And famously, [Jennifer Coolidge] gets more seasick than any other human I've ever met. And so she got seasick season one, and then season two, I remember texting her being like, "The cruelty of you dying on a boat."
Aimee: Didn't Mike [White] say that's why he did it? Because he was watching her be so seasick in Season One and was like, "That's how I'm going to do it."
Natasha: But she survived in real life.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
The White Lotus season 3 is available to watch now on NOW TV and Sky Atlantic.
