When we last saw spa manager Belinda Lindsay (Natasha Rothwell), spa manager of the Hawaii resort, in the season one finale of The White Lotus, she'd just learnt the hard way that you should never put your faith in a flighty rich person.
After forming a bond with grieving guest Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), Tanya offered to bankroll Belinda's dream of setting up her own wellness business — but Tanya ended up bailing on their plans and, although she did leave Belinda some money before checking out, it was far less than they'd been discussing and not enough for Belinda to start thinking about handing in her notice.
As The White Lotus season 3 arrives Belinda is also back as she travels to one of the chain's other resorts in Thailand as part of a research program for her work. But what awaits her upon her arrival — and how is she coping after being left in the lurch by Tanya?
We caught up with Natasha to find out more...
Natasha Rothwell interview for The White Lotus season 3
Was it always planned that Belinda would be back in season 3?
"Nope! Not at all. I feel like none of us knew what would happen after season one — we made it in a Covid bubble and we were just happy to be working. So yeah, I left feeling that the book was closed, and I watched season two along with everyone else, like a fan of the show, and so when the opportunity presented itself again, it was a 'pinch me' moment."
How has Belinda changed since season 1? And what brings her to Thailand?
"Tanya promising to underwrite her dreams, and having that fall through, can devastate a person. I think she's been on a healing journey to try to sort of build herself back up, and an opportunity presents itself to go to another White Lotus property and continue her therapeutic education. So work brings her there, but she's actually staying at the resort, so she gets to step into what it's like to be a guest."
Will we find out what she's been up to while she's been off-screen?
"It'll be alluded to, for sure, but where we find her is on a working holiday, and I think when we go on vacation, we get to audition a version of ourselves that maybe we're not like at home. I think she's really trying to shake off the residue of her past and embrace the unknown of Thailand and what this experience is. So you'll get a hint of what she's gone through, but I think the really exciting thing for audiences will be getting to see someone eyes-wide, experiencing this brand-new culture right along with them."
Did you feel apprehensive at all about returning to the show?
"Absolutely — I mean, it's as if there was a small fire in season one, and then gasoline was thrown on it and it's just blown up into a cultural phenomenon. I'm human, so there was definitely nerves going in. I'd read the scripts, and I was announced before any of the other cast members, so I was just waiting to figure out who was going to populate these characters that I was already in love with. The cast list is insane, so being able to stand next to these acting giants and be considered on their level is a huge personal ego boost, frankly!
"What's so moving, at least it was for me, is that I was so hesitant at our first sort of meet-and-great — not just because of the situation, but I'm neurospicy and I don't like events or leaving my home very much, I like to be in pajamas and do crosswords! So I was kind of nervous, and Carrie Coon [who plays Laurie] came up to me and, being neurospicy, I kind of vomit my mental state on people always. I was like, 'I'm so nervous right now!' and she goes 'hon, we're all in the other room talking about how we're all nervous to meet you'. My shoulders kind of left my ears and I was able to realize the impact of my character on them, and how they felt the burden of living up to the show, in a way that I was trying to live up to them and not the show, because I was in the first one. So it was nice to just debunk each other's fears in one quick conversation, and then anything else was history."
What was filming in Thailand like?
"It was amazing! A lot of the cast would return home when they had significant breaks in their schedule, but I didn't want to switch my clock too often once I was settled, so I chose to stay, and that allowed me to see a little bit more of the country. But nothing could have prepared me for the heat — it's the kind of heat that brings you closer to God! [laughs] But I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity, and it was one of the places on my bucket list, so it was nice to cross that off in such an amazing way."
The White Lotus season three launches in the US on Sunday February 16 at 9pm ET/PT on HBO and streaming simultaneously on Max. In the UK, it launches on Monday February 17 at 2am and 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
