Season three of The White Lotus hasn’t skimped on jaw-dropping moments, in fact, the latest in the anthological series may just be the most shocking yet.
While that incest plotline undoubtedly tops the list, it was Sam Rockwell’s incredible monologue that will go down in the history of the show as a fan favourite.
It turns out, however, that the now iconic scene almost looked very different. Frank was originally meant to be played by someone else. We simply can’t picture it.
Speaking to marie claire Australia, Leslie Bibb, who plays Kate on the show and also happens to be the longterm partner of Rockwell revealed the other actor was cast in the role had to pull out due to production delays.
“We pushed and pushed [filming],” she explains, “the weather, it’s a lot of moving parts, we literally lost our arrivals ship…there was just a lot of factors.”
The delays turned out to be a blessing for Rockwell fans (that’s all of us, right?).
“Sam was doing a movie that pushed a bit, then it timed out that he would finish and could technically come.”
Bibb knew from the moment she read the script that the monologue would make for one of the show’s most memorable moments.
“I said to him back when I got cast, I was like, ‘Ooh, there is this monologue! I don’t know who they’re casting, but they better cast someone good’” Bibb recalls.
But, when Rockwell got the call up, he still wasn’t completely sold.
“He went back and forth on doing it, because he didn’t have a lot of prep time for it. But, he did do it and I’m so glad he did.
“When it was him I was like, ‘Oh, this is the only person who could’. I mean, I’m clearly biased, but I think he’s one of the best actors we have.”
The White Lotus Season 3 is now available on Max +
