Jason Isaacs on Checking in to The White Lotus

In taking on his role in season 3 of The White Lotus Jason Isaacs was able to draw on a lot of experiences and people he had met over the years in order to create Timothy Ratliff. Having spent a lot of time in North Carolina previously he used this to understand the background of his character and his family lineage in the south. He also spoke to having encountered people from incredibly wealthy background similar to the Ratfliff family and how this shaped his perception particularly since for the family, a stay at the white lotus is a lower level of vacation than they would usually take - as the script notes that they didn’t fly private this time.

Timothy has a different relationship with each of his children which created an opportunity to delve into all of this and what some of his disappointments are in who his children are becoming. Jason noted that he would have felt his youngest should be more assertive and traditionally masculine whilst his oldest was being too crass and needing his approval too much., However at the end of the day he was an ultimate girl dad when it came to Piper.

Knowing that Timothy is facing losing everything whilst his family vacations in blissful ignorance of this fact his biggest challenge was in trying to determine what this gradual breakdown would look like. He found a lot of inner tension in the character especially since he has nobody to confide in, not even his wife played by Parker Posey. Adding on the element of his character taking his wife’s famous Lorazepam this added an external physical side to the breakdown as well.

Watch the full conversation below:

Q&A on The White Lotus with actor Jason Isaacs. Moderated by Mara Webster, In Creative Company.

An all-star cast head to a resort and unleash their worst, most privileged impulses. The series is a sharp social satire following the exploits of various guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain, whose stay becomes affected by their various dysfunctions. A week in the life of vacationers is unravelled as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise. With each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel's cheerful employees, and the idyllic locale itself.