Relocating to a luxurious hotel in Thailand for six months seems like a scenario only possible in dreams or through extraordinary luck. Season three of The White Lotus granted that luxury to its cast and crew, which includes Aimee Lou Wood from Sex Education, Walton Goggins from The Fallout, and Gen V star Patrick Schwarzenegger, among others. Michelle Monaghan, known for her role in Mission: Impossible, portrays Jaclyn, a woman on a “girls’ trip” grappling with the group’s shifting power dynamics.
In an interview, Monaghan described her time on the series, filmed in Thailand, as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” She shared, “[My family] came over and we got to have adventures, and it was just a very, very special time. I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and this kind of takes the cake.” She added that her family enjoyed their own adventures, particularly diving, which helped them bond in unique ways.
Aimee Lou Wood, a Bafta winner, had a different experience. She found her time in Thailand both incredible and overwhelming, especially as she was adjusting to a new country during a significant life transition, including moving flats and turning thirty. “It was obviously incredible. But yeah, I was really overwhelmed. I was so overwhelmed and I kind of remained overwhelmed,” she reflected. Wood expressed a sense of longing for home while also missing the adventure and the friends she made on set, who felt like home to her.
Upon returning to the UK, she immediately sought out her friends, saying, “I was crying at the beautiful London litter. I was like, ‘It’s just the most gorgeous place, London.’ And it was probably me crying at a bin, but it was just home.”
The White Lotus, much like Emily In Paris, has significantly boosted tourism in the locations featured in the show.
