With the much anticipated premier of the third season of HBO’s The White Lotus days away, it’s time to get acquainted with the talented Thai cast members
In its first two seasons, HBO’s dark comedy anthology series has travelled to luxury resorts in Hawaii and Sicily. For its third season, premiering Sunday, February 16, it pulls into Thailand, with filming locations in Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui. The cast features several big names, including Leslie Bibb, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Walton Goggins and Patrick ‘Son of Arnold’ Schwarzenegger, along with the returning Natasha Rothwell, last seen in Season 1 having her dreams of opening her own business dashed by Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya. (May she rest in peace.)
Also among the cast are four popular Thai actors who may be lesser known to viewers in the US and UK: Dom Hetrakul, Tayme Thapthimthong, Patravadi Mejudhon and Lisa Manoban. With the season fast approaching, it’s worth getting familiar with them, too. Here’s everything you need to know.
Dom Hetrakul
White Lotus Role: Pornchai, the hotel’s spa therapist
Dom Hetrakul, the hotel’s serene spa therapist Pornchai in season 3, is well-known in Thailand for his film work over 25 years. He also popped up alongside Nicolas Cage in the Pang Brothers’ 1999 action-thriller Bangkok Dangerous. Pornchai becomes mentor to Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell), season 1’s only returning character – here, presumably, to rinse the horrors of Maui out of her system.
Locally, Hetrakul is a respected actor with starring roles in popular Thai TV series like The Family and The Sky Without the Sun. He has outside interests, too, running a company that distributes Triumph motorcycles in Thailand and comes from a family with deep ties to the country’s media scene.
Tayme ‘Maethi’ Thapthimthong
White Lotus Role: Gaitok, a security guar
Playing Gaitok, the doe-eyed security guard who is crushing hard on colleague Mook (Lisa Manoban), is London-born actor Tayme Thapthimthong. Tayme’s (aka ‘Maethi’) career kicked off with an appearance in Academy Fantasia, a popular Thai singing competition, in 2013. He won second place and gained a small army of enthusiastic fans. Since then, he’s appeared in Swedish TV thriller Farang and 2014 Tony Jaa action flick Skin Trade. Now he’s bringing a smiling, gnomic air to the lovestruck Gaitok – a likely contender for cult status in season 3.
Patravadi Mejudhon
White Lotus Role: Sritala Hollinger, one of the owners of the hotel
Presiding regally over White Lotus’s Thai resort like a cross between Zsa Zsa Gabor and Maria Callas is its singing owner Sritala Hollinger, played by veteran actress Patravadi Mejudhon. Better known as ‘Khru Lek’, she’s a respected figure in the Thai entertainment industry and a bit of a powerhouse of stage and screen, with producer and director credits to go with her acting work.
Like Sritala, Khru Lek likes to give back – albeit in much more altruistic ways than simply grabbing the mic for the poolside diva show her character pulls off in episode 2. She’s a teacher and develops projects to help young people find purpose through the dramatic arts.
Lisa Manoban
White Lotus Role: Mook, the resort manager
Pop superstar Lisa Manoban – better known as ‘Lisa’ or ‘Lalisa’ IRL – plays ethereal ‘health mentor’ Mook, who holds the guileless and smitten security guard Gaitan under her spell. In Thailand, she’s basically royalty: a rapper, singer, dancer and actress who performs with South Korean supergroup Blackpink (96 million YouTube subscribers and counting).
In Thailand, where she’s an icon, you’ll find her on everything from billboards to TV ads. Prospective Gaitans out there are out of luck: she’s currently dating luxe goods CEO Frédéric Arnault. Which is pretty White Lotus in itself.
When can I watch White Lotus season 3?
The eight-part third season begins on HBO in the US on February 23, and runs every Sunday until April 6. You can catch it on Sky Atlantic in the UK and it’ll be streaming on Binge in Australia.
Is there a trailer for season 3?
There is and you can watch it below.
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