Starring in “The White Lotus” is not for the faint of heart. Not only is shooting it a challenge, with Season 3’s production lasting half a year in the unpredictable weather of Thailand, but the attention put upon those involved once its released is not always easy for everyone.
“I’m quite glad that it’s abating now,” Season 3 star Jason Isaacs said in a recent roundtable conversation with The Los Angeles Times. “I’d like to return to my normal life, but I don’t know how people who are uber-famous deal with it.”
Even having been a part of the “Harry Potter” franchise, Isaacs was not prepared for the kind of publicity he received during “The White Lotus” run this year, as well as what it led to. During his “billions of interviews,” he tried to remain open and honest, expressing the difficulties of making the show, but he had no idea the webs people would spin based on his words.
“So I’ve said a few times, ‘You make friends. You lose friends, romances or whatever; things happen between departments and all the backstage drama that we’re all used to,’” said Isaacs. “Well, the online world went mad trying to deconstruct, trying to work out who knew who and who was [doing what].”
Isaacs is referencing a quote from a March 2025 Vulture interview in which he said, “It was like a cross between summer camp and ‘Lord of the Flies’ but in a gilded cage. It wasn’t a holiday. Some people got very close, there were friendships that were made and friendships that were lost … They say in the show, ‘What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand,’ but there’s an off-screen White Lotus as well, with fewer deaths but just as much drama.”
Isaacs revealed that what the online world hadn’t realized is that he wasn’t talking about the cast alone, but “all the crew and all the departments — not that it’s anyone’s business.” In truth, Isaacs felt people were finding more interest in creating gossip than appreciating the work that was put into this season.
“What happened there is so much less interesting than Mike White’s brilliant stories,” he told the LA Times. “You shouldn’t be interested in who went to dinner with who. I kind of wish I hadn’t opened my mouth about it, but I don’t want to pretend it was a holiday.”
In addition to Isaacs, “The White Lotus” Season 3 also featured Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, Aimee Lou Wood, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, Leslie Bibb, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Natasha Rothwell.
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