I Have to Know Which ‘White Lotus’ Star Didn’t ‘Get’ Walton Goggins’ ‘Process’

My money's on Jason Isaacs.

By Audra Heinrichs  |  April 23, 2025 | 10:06am
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I Have to Know Which ‘White Lotus’ Star Didn’t ‘Get’ Walton Goggins’ ‘Process’

Walton Goggins is a Scorpio, meaning that any interview he gives might leave you saying: “Damn, that guy’s pretty intense.” Well, as his landmark year in television continues, his Scorpio-ness is actively reaching new heights. Don’t believe me? I invite you to consider this Cultured cover story, in which he poses in nothing but a yellow banana hammock on a Ferris wheel and postures about his acting “process.”

“Someone I worked with on The White Lotus didn’t fully understand my process,” Goggins told the magazine. “My character—Rick Hatchett—he’s isolated. So during filming, I was isolated. I liked mirroring that, but it was emotionally difficult. Then, a few months into The White Lotus, Fallout premiered and started to take off. One day, this actor I was working with—nice guy, good actor—came up to me and said, ‘You’re brilliant in Fallout. Please tell me you had a good time making that.'”

Personally, I think that’s a perfectly fair question, given Goggins gets to run around as a noseless cowboy. However, because rumors of what sounds like a really weird time in Thailand for the cast of season three persist, I have no trouble imagining Goggins reacting to the inquiry with some…extra sensitivity.

In case you’ve been out of the loop, Goggins’ co-star Jason Isaacs has repeatedly (and rather cryptically) alluded to on-set tensions, likening production to “a cross between summer camp and Lord of the Flies but in a gilded cage.” Further, the actor claimed that bonds were built and then broken among some cast members. By his account: “There were alliances that formed and broke, romances that formed and broke, friendships that formed and broke. It’s a long period of time for people to be away from their family with an open bar and all the wildness being in Thailand allows.”

So, how did Goggins answer the unnamed actor’s question? “I just stared at him,” Goggins said. “Because he didn’t get it.” Ope!

“I don’t care how good you are—if you don’t understand that there’s a world beyond the script, if you don’t give yourself over to it, then you’re missing something profound in this work,” he continued. “This is the drug. I said, ‘No. I play a guy who’s lived for 200 years and seen the worst of humanity. Every day was fucking horrible.’ He just stared back at me like, ‘Okay, wow.’

So, we can conclude the unnamed actor was Isaacs, right? Let’s consider some evidence: First, “brilliant”? That’s every Anglo’s favorite adjective. Second, who else would it be? Patrick Schwarzenegger? Nah. He’s a Virgo, as is Sam Nivola. I’m sure they would’ve matched Goggins’ energy (or tried to). Sam Rockwell? He’s also a Scorpio, so he definitely matched Goggins’ energy. Tayme Thapthimthong? Those two vibed. Just look at these pictures. It has to be Isaacs. Not only is he in very few photos from the seven-month-long shoot, he’s also a flippant British guy at the end of the day. His process is showing up in character, and leaving as himself. And, in case you still weren’t convinced, let us examine this brief anecdote Isaacs shared with Vulture. After months on set, he recalled calling his wife and telling her: “Some of these people are freaking mad.”

I’m a Goggins girlie as much as anyone, but if my polite attempt at small talk were met with a stare and a soliloquy about a fictional monster man, I, too, would call my loved ones and then lead an entire press tour into mess.

  • Timothée Chalamet‘s mom on Kylie Jenner: “She’s very nice to me.” Well, I’d hope so! [Page Six]
  • Denzel Washington claims tickets for Othello, the show in which he’s currently starring opposite Jake Gyllenhaal on Broadway, are selling for as low as $50, to which I say: Girl, where??? [People]
  • Elizabeth Hurley is now doing photoshoots around Billy Ray Cyrus‘ farm. [Daily Mail]
  • Does the new I Know What You Did Last Summer look corny? Yes. Will I see it solely for the return of Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.? Also, yes. [The Hollywood Reporter]
  • Jimmy Kimmel is executive producing a docuseries about four sisters who model. [Variety]
  • Meanwhile, Khloe Kardashian is developing a reality show about her neighbors in Calabasas. [E! News]
  • Oh, good. There’s a new Golden Bachelor. And he used to be a football player. [Us Weekly]
  • Pedro Pascal in a “Protect The Dolls” t-shirt? I am proposing marriage. [Just Jared]

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