White Lotus producer admits Will Sharpe wasn't first choice for role of Ethan
Satirical drama series The White Lotus has captivated fans and skyrocketed many cast members into the spotlight, especially thanks to the sweep of Emmys won by the show and cast.
Fans are waiting with baited breath for season three of the anthology series with theories about where the show will go next - mostly surrounding how to bring back fan favourite Jennifer Coolidge after her character's untimely exit.
Season two was critically acclaimed but could have looked very different as producer David Bernad revealed they had a famous actor in mind to play leading man Ethan Spiller before the role went to Will Sharpe.
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Sharpe's Ethan was a stand out role along side Theo James' Cameron (L to R, Theo James, Will Sharpe) (HBO)Speaking at Berlinale Series Market in Germany, Bernad shared that American Horror Story's Evan Peters was their front-runner for the hapless workaholic.
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Ethan finds himself on an uncomfortable holiday at The White Lotus, this season set in Sicily, Italy, with wife Harper (Audrey Plaza). The couple are paired with his former college friend Cameron Sullivan (Theo James) and his wife Daphne (Meghan Fahy).
"That part was the last part we cast in the season," explained Bernad. "And originally it was supposed to be Evan Peters, but for whatever reason – scheduling or timing – it didn’t work out."
Evan Peters is one of the core cast for Ryan Murphy's own anthology series American Horror Story, he also recently played serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Bernad added: "We were really trying to figure out how to cast that part so it didn’t feel like familiar casting. We were in Rome auditioning Italian actors, and I was jetlagged Googling at 4am and I came across Will Sharpe in Giri/Haji, which is a brilliant show in the UK.
"I’d never seen him before and he was just incredibly talented. I looked at his other work and realized he was kind of a chameleon."
X-Men actor Evan Peters nearly landed the role instead (Getty Images)The British actor got his break writing for Never Mind the Buzzcocks before starring in the comedy sketch show The Wrong Door. Since 2008 he's appeared in Sherlock, Casualty, Dirk Gently and Flowers, but The White Lotus has been his biggest role to date.
Sharpe is dating fellow actress Sophia Di Martino who is best known for her role as Sylvie on Marvel's Loki. The couple have two children together, born in 2019 and 2021.
During the talk, Bernad also all but confirmed the third season would be taking place in Asia, which many fans had already begun to speculate.
Mike White, the show's creator, has heavily hinted that the next season would leave Europe behind. He told Variety: "I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.
"It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus."
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Each season focuses on a new location of The White Lotus hotel chain, exploring one aspect of humanity and it's flaws such as money and lust. It is unknown if any of the characters from season one or two will return for the next season, so far only Jennifer Coolidge's character has been given a second story arc.
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