Aimee Lou Wood has compared filming the third season of The White Lotus with being on The Truman Show or Big Brother – check out her full interview with NME above.
The White Lotus is a black comedy anthology, with each season set in a luxurious resort filled by a colourful cast of over-the-top guests. The first season was set in Hawaii while season two took the soap opera dramatics to Scily. Next week, The White Lotus returns for season three, with the action taking place in Thailand.
The show was filmed on location in Bangkok, Phuket and Ko Samui between February and August 2024 and according to Aimee Lou Wood (who plays the peppy Chelsea), it was an intense few months.
“I know Leo (Woodall, who played Jack in season two) and that was really helpful because he knows what the experience is like, so he was checking in on me every now and again while I was in Thailand,” she told NME.
“The fourth time he checked in, I was like ‘I’m not OK’ and I had this whole thing, but he was so good on the perspective thing. It was also so good having Natasha (Rothwell, who plays Belinda in both seasons one and three) there because she’s been through it before, so it was very anchoring. ‘It’s just that point of the social experiment we’re in and it’s normal and fine’. That perspective was really helpful.”
Wood went on to say that the intensity was caused by “the lack of distance” between playing Chelsea and clocking off for the evening. “Normally when you wrap, you go home. With this, you wrap and walk five steps to your room. You’re living where you’re filming. It is the Truman Show. It starts to feel like that – [you start to question if] anything is real? Everything starts to feel like a set,” she said.
Wood continued: “I understand why the performances in the previous two seasons are so [good] because the lines get very blurred and it all gets a bit claustrophobic, so you have to really rely on each other to keep sane. Is it a bit like Big Brother [but with] all these Hollywood actors. It feels so odd.”
Check out the full interview with Aimee Lou Wood above, where she talks about working alongside BLACKPINK star Lisa, sneaky Oasis fans getting prepared ahead of their reunion shows this summer and her love of The White Lotus theme tune.
‘The White Lotus’ season three launches on Sky and streaming service NOW on February 17