“The White Lotus” is coming back with a fresh cast, new location and a slew of mysteries.
For this third season of the HBO series, expect things to get even bigger and darker. As creator Mike White told Time magazine, “I do feel like the other seasons were a rehearsal for this one.”
Since each season swaps a cast and characters almost entirely, it can be tough to keep track of who's who. Below, find a guide to the cast and characters of “The White Lotus” Season 3.
More ‘White Lotus’ Season 3
- Patrick Schwarzenegger kept ‘White Lotus’ gig a secret — until mom Maria Shriver had a theory
- Everything to know about ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett
Who’s Walton? Goggins may most recently be familiar from playing The Ghoul/Cooper Howard in “Fallout” last year. But he’s been around since 1990 in various TV and film roles, including extended stints on “The Shield,”“Justified” and “The Righteous Gemstones.”
Who’s Rick? According to an HBO press release, he’s a “rugged man with a chip on his shoulder” who’s spending some quality time at the resort with his much younger girlfriend Chelsea. (In the trailer, she urges him to get a facial because “the lady in the airport thought you were my dad.”) But Rick may have an agenda. At one point in the trailer, he’s shown scrolling through photos on his phone, pausing in front of a picture of a gray-haired couple.
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea
Who’s Aimee? Wood made a splash in “Sex Education” and has had roles in films like “Seize Them!” and “Daddy Issues.”
Who’s Chelsea? Called a “free-spirit” in the press release, there’s not much known about her other than that she’s traveling with her older boyfriend Rick. There’s a sense that neither of them are particularly wealthy — despite being guests at the resort — particularly Chelsea, who notes in the trailer to Rick, “We should always live like this.”
Leslie Bibb as Kate
Who’s Leslie? Bibb co-starred in “Palm Royale” and has had roles on series including “Jupiter’s Legacy,” “American Housewife,” “Crossing Jordan” and “Popular.” She also recently appeared in the feature “Juror #2.”
Who’s Laurie? She’s one of a trio of pals taking a girls’ trip after a long time apart, along with Laurie and Jaclyn — but based on the trailer, they’re not as close now as they used to be.
Carrie Coon as Laurie
Who’s Carrie? Coon currently stars on “The Gilded Age” and was one of the three title siblings in 2023’s “His Three Daughters.” She’s also had extended roles on “The Sinner,” “Fargo” and “The Leftovers,” and is married to Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist and sometimes actor Tracy Letts.
Who’s Laurie? Her description is much like Kate’s — she’s one of three longtime friends getting together for a fractious reunion in paradise. But in the trailer she’s shown pointing at her pals and calling one “fake” and the other “vain and selfish.”
Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn
Who’s Michelle? Largely a film actress in movies like “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” and “MaXXXine,” Monaghan has had steady work in TV series like “Boston Public,” “True Detective,” “The Path” and “Bad Monkey.”
Who’s Jaclyn? The third of three longtime friends taking a girls’ trip to Thailand after not seeing each other for a long time, based on the trailer (where she notes, “We’re not dead yet!”) Jaclyn seems up for a party.
Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff
Who’s Jason? For most, Isaacs will always be Lucius Malfoy from the “Harry Potter” films, but he’s also developed a following playing other cruel characters in everything from “The Patriot” to “The OA.”
Who’s Timothy? While HBO’s press release only tells us that he’s a “wealthy businessman vacationing with his wife and three children,” the trailer makes Timothy’s role seem like a huge roller coaster ride. He wonders to someone on the phone what he’s supposed to tell his family because “we’re poor now and Daddy’s going to prison!” And later, he’s shown stalking around with a gun. Yeah, this is not going to be his Best Vacation Ever.
Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff
Who’s Parker? Once an indie film “it” girl, Posey has appeared in over 100 films and TV shows since the 1990s, including “As the World Turns,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Kicking and Screaming” and several of Christopher Guest’s ensemble “mockumentaries” like “Best in Show.” She also had an extended role in the 2018 remake of “Lost in Space.”
Who’s Victoria? There’s not much to know about Victoria exactly, except that she’s at the resort with her husband Timothy and their three grown children (who she still calls her “babies” in the trailer). But she also comes across in the trailer as a privileged, southern woman — remarking to a worker that they usually vacation in the Caribbean, and suggesting to her husband that if they lost all their money she might not want to live.
Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff
Who’s Patrick? As you might guess, he’s related to that Schwarzenegger — Patrick is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. Thus far he’s been seen in a slew of films and TV shows, including “Scream Queens,” “Gen V,” “The Long Road Home,” “The Staircase” and “The Terminal List.”
Who’s Saxon? He’s the eldest son of Timothy and Victoria Ratliff, and works for his father’s company. (Though maybe not for long, based on news Timothy gets while at the resort.) In the trailer, he’s faced with a philosophical question from his brother Lochlan, and is shown definitely embracing a hedonistic lifestyle.
Patrick Schwarzenegger shared details about his character in an interview with TODAY.com.
“Saxon’s a very fit guy and cares a lot about what he puts in his body and about all his health and wellness and working out and stuff,” he said.
Schwarzenegger added that while Saxon is “completely different” from him as a person, there was one place of overlap.
“It’s a character that’s working for his dad, living in his dad’s shadows and trying to make a name for himself,” he said. “So there were similarities there for myself that I could draw upon.”
Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff
Who’s Sarah? In addition to having several roles in horror-adjacent films and TV shows (think “NOS4A2” and “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”), Hook also had extended roles on “First Kill” and “Cruel Intentions.”
Who’s Piper? Not quite launched from her parents yet, Piper is a religion studies major in her last year of college, and the middle child of Timothy and Victoria; the whole family has come to Thailand on a lux trip together.
Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff
Who’s Sam? The son of actors Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer, Sam has done some TV directing and appeared in movies and TV shows like “White Noise,” “Maestro” and “The Perfect Couple.”
Who’s Lochlan? The youngest of the Ratliff clan, Sam is a high school senior who, according to the trailer, seems to be wrestling with his moral conscience. “What if this life is just a test, to see if we can become better people?” he asks his older brother Saxon in the trailer.
Natasha Rothwell as Belinda Lindsey
Who’s Natasha? With a background in comedy, Rothwell has appeared in over 20 “UCB Comedy Originals,” and gone on to appear in series like “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and “Insecure." She's also lent her voice to animations like “Baby Shark’s Big Show!” “Wish,” and “Tuca & Bertie” and written for “Saturday Night Live.”
Who’s Belinda? Only a few performers have survived more than one season on “White Lotus,” and with the eight episodes of Season 3, Rothwell becomes the actor who’s been on it the longest (yes, surpassing Jennifer Coolidge). Belinda was first seen in Season 1 as the spa manager at The White Lotus in Maui, who got stiffed by a guest. This season, she’s both a guest at the Thai resort and someone who’s trying to learn everything she can to make the Maui location a better place. Read on for a recap of what happened to her in Season 1.
Lek Patravadi as Sritala
Who’s Lek? Also known as Patravadi Mejudhon, Patravadi is a celebrated actress in Thailand who has produced, directed and written TV shows and plays.
Who’s Sritala? According to the press release, she’s one of the owners of the local White Lotus resort and is a “visionary behind its wellness program.” She also turns up in a photo Rick has on his cellphone, so there might be a connection between them.
Lalisa Manobal as Mook
Who’s Lalisa? Better known as Lisa professionally, Manobal is Thai by birth and is a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink. “The White Lotus” is her acting debut.
Who’s Mook? A health mentor for guests staying at the resort, her voice can be heard in the trailer saying, “Everyone comes to Thailand, they’re either hiding from someone or they’re looking for someone.”
Tayme Thapthimthong as Gaitok
Who’s Tayme? He’s largely credited as Maethi Thapthimthong in his roles, and has appeared in the miniseries “Thai Cave Rescue” and TV shows “Farang” and “Hooked,” among others.
Who’s Gaitok? A security guard at The White Lotus. He’s shown taking action against a thief and practicing firing a gun, but there’s not a lot of other information about what kind of security measures he’s going to be implementing.
Randee Dawn (she/her) is an entertainment journalist and author based in Brooklyn. In addition to writing forTODAY.com, Variety and the Los Angeles Times, she is the author of the fantastical rock n' roll novel “The Only Song Worth Singing” and the funny pop culture fantasy “Tune in Tomorrow.” She co-authored “The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion”with Susan Green. When not interviewing the stars or dabbling in speculative fiction, she dreams of the next place she can travel to. More atRandeeDawn.com.
