The White Lotus star Leslie Bibb has revealed how she helped her real-life partner Sam Rockwell prepare for his guest spot on the latest episode of the current season.
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During an appearance on CNN yesterday (March 18), Bibb, who plays Kate in the show, on vacation with her two friends Laurie (Carrie Coon) and Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), opened up about how Rockwell ended up joining the cast.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, she said: “He was a last minute. That came in last minute, like maybe two weeks before they were going to film it. So, it was very last minute. I said to them when they offered it to him, I was like, ‘If he doesn’t do it, don’t get mad at me. And Mike’s like, ‘I’m not going to get mad at you.’”
As reported by Deadline, on an episode of Bravo’s talk show Watch What Happens Live, Bibb elaborated on how she helped Rockwell prepare for the part once he was on board.
She said: “He was not sure about doing it just because he didn’t have proper prep time. So we went on safari in South Africa, and I was like, ‘I’ll get you off book. I’ll get you off book.’”
Rockwell plays Frank, an old friend of Walton Goggins’ character Rick, who travels to Bangkok during the series to seek vengeance for his father’s death. Frank gives a monologue explaining to Rick how he became sober.
Bibb continued: “I ran lines with him. I think that monologue is iconic and I think it’s really what the whole season is about – what Mike’s really saying there.”
She also spoke highly of the lengthy monologue on CBS Mornings, and how it relates to the themes of The White Lotus in general, saying that: “I felt like it was what Mike was really trying to talk about for the show.”
The star explained that if her character Kate and her friends did “what Frank did and been like, ‘Hey this is what’s happening in my life, I’m having problems in my marriage, I’m drinking too much, I’m doing this, whatever,’ they wouldn’t be gossiping about each other because they would immediately put the shield down, they would be vulnerable. And he comes in and he’s like, here’s my truth and he’s unapologetic.”
Rockwell’s appearance wasn’t the only surprise The White Lotus had in store for episode five, which also featured an incestuous kiss that left fans reeling. Last week, a full-frontal nude moment with Jason Isaacs’ character Timothy got viewers talking, with Isaacs saying that questions about whether he was wearing a prosthetic penis indicated a double standard for men in the industry – before walking back those comments shortly after.
The third season of Mike White’s acclaimed HBO show received a four-star review from NME, with Nick Levine writing: “A little sweetness definitely helps to balance out the prevailing saltiness. As the season progresses, the sneaky intricacy of White’s plotting begins to yield surreal, shocking and genuinely hilarious moments.
“No one can write a scene where one character pretends not to remember another quite as exquisitely as White. Tanya may be gone, but this transgressive soap opera remains unique and completely jaw-dropping.”