Jason Isaacs has admitted ‘The White Lotus’ cast all “stunk” after the end of a day’s filming because of the gruelling heat in Thailand.
Jason Isaacs has admitted ‘The White Lotus’ cast all “stunk” after the end of a day’s filming.
The ‘Harry Potter’ star has joined the cast of the third season of the anthology series and with filming taking place in Thailand, he admitted he wasn’t the only one struggling in the heat, particularly because they were unable to have air conditioning running due to the noise interferance it caused.
He told Time magazine: “We’re doing intimate scenes, and you stink. By the end of each day, we’re just caked in sweat and makeup. You can peel your clothes off with a trowel. It melts your fillings.”
“It would be churlish to complain — there are terrible things going on in the world — but we’ve all had enough.”
The outlet noted many crew members “fell ill” amid record-breaking temperatures, and the set was “littered with ice coolers and sachets of isotonic powder” to help them cool down, while hairdryers were utilised for the cast to dry off their sweat patches.
But despite the gruelling conditions, Jason – whose character is married to Posey Parker in the series – enjoyed the experience of working with showrunner Mike White because he was so open to collaboration.
He said: “He wants actors to be able to show themselves. It’s an odd paradox that he both wrote it all so precisely and is also prepared to throw it all away and give it over to the actors and just stir the pot.”
However, the 61-year-old star admitted the writer-and-director frequently disrupted filming with his own laughter.
He added: “Mike shrieks with laughter so much that he ruins the take, but you’re thrilled that you get to do it again.
“Then he sits behind the monitor like some kind of satanic imp, throwing out ever more outrageous lines, things that you’re almost blushing to say, but he just pushes things further and further. And you just trust that in the edit he’ll find the right tone.”
The cast and crew stayed in the hotel where they filmed and to avoid having to keep resetting locations, the crew shot two weeks of breakfast scenes, then two weeks of lunches, two weeks of bedroom drama and then two weeks out at set, which meant groups of the cast had big chunks of downtime but were still on set.
And the experience brought them all closer as a result.
Jason – whose on-screen children are played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sam Nivola and Sarah Catherine Hook – said: “I do feel incredibly parental and very, very close to the kids.
“I think it was odd for my real kids to arrive and see how close we were.”
Jason Isaacs: White Lotus cast all ‘stunk’
