Este Haim has opened up about becoming the “director of fun” for The White Lotus season two.
The musician is credited as music consultant for the Emmy-winning series, and was invited for a one-week holiday by her friend and the show’s executive producer Dave Bernad.
- READ MORE: ‘The White Lotus’ season two review: the guests are still awful, the show still utterly addictive
In an interview with W, Haim explained that she quickly coached actress Beatrice Grannò on some of her musical scenes in the series, with Bernad giving her the official role.
“I was sitting with Bea, going back and forth on the piano and singing to each other,” Haim explained. “I think Dave saw this happening and saw Bea light up a bit when I was with her. He said, ‘It would be really cool if you could do this every day. Is that something that you would be interested in?’
“Dave just saw how open and free Bea was when she had someone to bounce a performance off of. I was coaching her and Giuseppe in their performance, helping with arrangements and giving them the confidence and tips and tricks to give the best performances they possibly could.”
Este Haim went on to discuss hosting karaoke nights for the White Lotus cast members.
“At the beginning of this journey for me, I was just a friend of a friend who happened to be on set, so I wasn’t necessarily thinking, is this the most professional thing for me to be throwing parties? But it was a nice way to blow off steam after a day of working,” she said.
“We’d go to that bar in the hotel, and I would plug in my computer and DJ to the wee hours of the night. There was a screen and a projector, and we would karaoke. Then there were nights where we’d just sit around the piano and drink and sing songs.
“We were all staying in the hotel that we were making the show in, so everyone got really, really close. It was hard not to fall in love with everyone, because we were having such a good time and everyone got along so well.”
In a five-star review of The White Lotus season two, NME wrote: “Rarely is there a moment where one of the guests isn’t unhappy or angry, confused or offended, and White manages to balance it all without the whole thing feeling false or like the worst parts of a soap opera. This, as many failed TV shows prove, is a Herculean effort. We are lucky to have shows like The White Lotus. We should scoff them up while we can.”