In the new season of The White Lotus, Natasha Rothwell reprises her role of spa manager Belinda, a woman "on the precipice of change" as she straddles the line between guest and staffer. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about filming in Thailand, the cancellation of her show How to Die Alone, and getting cast as the hilarious Kelli on Insecure. Also, we remember Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman who died this week at age 95.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. This has been quite a year so far for my guest, Natasha Rothwell. She returns to the third season of the popular HBO show The White Lotus. And just this past weekend, her Hulu series How to Die Alone, which she created and starred in, won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Ensemble Cast and a new scripted series.
But that win is bittersweet because the show, which premiered last September, was canceled after just one season. While Rothwell's return to the White Lotus signals a deeper dive into the tension between entitlement and servitude, which has been present along with murder in every season of the show.
It follows the storyline of seemingly picture-perfect travelers with various dysfunctions who go to the White Lotus resort to escape. In the first season, Rothwell's character Belinda is a spa manager at the Hawaii location. She meets a wealthy visitor named Tanya, played by Jennifer Coolidge, and the two strike up a friendship. Belinda shares her dreams of opening up her own spa with Tanya.
Yeah.
Because rich people, they're the ones that, you know, f*** up the whole world.
Yeah, I mean, I know a lot of rich, white, f***ed up people. They could really use you. Have you ever thought about starting, like, your own business? Come on. Lucas, I would be down for funding something like that.
We watch as Tanya flakes on Belinda, never funding her dream to open a spa, instead running off with another guest who goes on to con and attempt to have Coolidge's character killed. Well, in this latest season in Thailand, Belinda experiences the other side of the guest staff dynamic as a visitor taking part in a White Lotus exchange program.
Natasha Rothwell is an award-winning actor, writer, and series creator. Her early start in comedy included a stint as a writer on Saturday Night Live during the 2014-15 season. She also starred in HBO's Insecure as Issa's hilarious and sexually liberated friend Kelly. She also served as a writer and supervising producer on the show. Natasha Rothwell, welcome to Fresh Air.
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