A Secret, A Security Guard and a Jennifer Coolidge Halloween Party: How ‘The White Lotus’ Assembled Its Sprawling Cast

Lalisa Manobal, aka Lisa of Blackpink, was eager for a new challenge, and acting seemed like a natural next step for the K-pop performer. Enter The White Lotus, one of her favorite shows, which was holding auditions in her native Thailand. She threw herself on tape and sent it over, which led to a more formal audition in Phuket before White and Bernad. Manobal, admittedly, was nervous. White, admittedly, was skeptical. 

“I did not know who Lisa or Blackpink was. All I knew was that there was a Blackpink girl [her bandmate, Jennie] in The Idol and I was like, ‘We’re not doing that.’ Then I found out that there might be security issues and I was just like, ‘No,’” say White, who ultimately reconsidered after seeing her second audition and her local impact. Now, says Manobal, she’d like to do more: “If I have a chance to do more acting, I would love to. There’s nothing coming up, but I’m open!”

As for Tayme Thapthimthong, he was unfamiliar with the HBO drama when the local casting director reached out. “I usually just watch spy thrillers and action films, nothing where you have to sit and really listen,” he says with a laugh. “So, I watched the first season to prepare, and I didn’t really get it. Where’s this going? Is there a bad guy? But three or four episodes in, I realized that it’s all about tension.” 

He’d worked with the casting director a decade or so earlier (Mechanic 2), but he’d since left the industry in favor of an army stint and some time in private security. In fact, he was still doing security work when the casting director reached out about the role of Gaitok, who is, in Thapthimthong’s words, “the most useless” of security guards. “She said, ‘I heard you’re out of the army, would you like to get back into acting?’” he recalls. “And it was perfect timing because I really wanted to.”