Natasha Rothwell (‘The White Lotus’): Improvising with Jennifer Coolidge ‘was like comedy tennis… like Venus and Serena’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I’m still pinching myself,” admits Natasha Rothwell, newly minted as a first-time Emmy nominee for her role on “The White Lotus,” who also recently concluded her five-season run as a writer, director and co-star on HBO’s Emmy-winning comedy “Insecure.” For our recent webchat she adds, “I was just super excited to wake up and congratulate Jennifer [Coolidge] because of course she’s going to get nominated, but instead I woke up to my phone going off like crazy and I couldn’t process what I was seeing on the screen, it was just kind of me staring at it and then I burst into tears and immediately called my manager of 15 years and we were crying together, it was really beautiful, to be able to celebrate with her and to see all of ‘The White Lotus’ love too, I’m just gobsmacked.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
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HBO’s “The White Lotus” was created by Mike White, who wrote and directed all six episodes of the anthology drama, which follows a week in the life of the guests and employees coexisting among the swaying palm trees, idyllic sunsets, poolside banter and tropical bliss of the fictional White Lotus resort in Maui. With each passing day, we learn more about the dysfunctional vacationers and the resort’s beleaguered staff members, which all comes to a head in the series’ dynamite finale as the identity of the mysterious dead body that features in the show’s first scene is finally revealed. Originally intended as a six-part limited series, after “The White Lotus” became a critical and commercial sensation last year, HBO renewed it for a second season, which is currently in production and set in Sicily.
“The White Lotus” leads all limited series at the Emmys this year with an astounding 20 nominations across the board, with almost every member of the series’ ensemble cast scoring a nomination. Rothwell is joined by Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario and Sydney Sweeney taking up all but two spots in Best Limited Series/Movie Supporting Actress (marking the first time ever that five women have been nominated from a single series in one category), while Murray Bartlett, Jake Lacy and Steve Zahn compete in the corresponding male lineup.
SEE 2022 Emmy nominations: Complete list of contenders for 74th Primetime Emmys
Rothwell plays Belinda Lindsey, the resort’s generous and empathetic spa manager who develops a complicated relationship with Tanya McQuoid, a highly anxious middle-aged woman seeking inner peace and self-discovery, intent on spreading her recently deceased mother’s ashes on the island. After Tanya latches onto Belinda as a confidante and friend, Belinda is innocently lured into thinking that the wealthy and well-meaning but self-involved Tanya might fund her dreams of opening a wellness spa of her very own. Among the numerous story arcs throughout the series, it is Belinda and Tanya’s journey that is perhaps the most endearing and compelling, in no small part to the instant connection that developed between both actors. “It was a dream come true to be able to play with her,” Rothwell says when discussing Coolidge’s natural inclination to improvise onset. “When I saw that spark on set I was like ‘oh we’re gonna play,’ and Mike gave us the opportunity to do that, and it really was like comedy tennis; it felt like Venus and Serena. I would say something and she would send it right back and we were just in the moment. To make her laugh, I mean, come on, that’s an award in and of itself to get her to break! I was just inspired by working with her.”
The series ends on a bittersweet note, as the whirlwind of the week from hell ends with a whole new boatload of guests sailing towards the resort, with staff at the ready with their toothy grins and welcoming gestures, awaiting another go-round in paradise. After Belinda’s heartbreak, it is the image of her figuratively picking herself back up and dusting herself off with a smile and wave that leaves an indelible impression before the credits ultimately roll. “The subtlety of those moments I think really does allow the conversation to happen about class and privilege,” Rothwell explains about that moment, adding that it is “in terms of not just vacation travel, but just in the way we see the world and how we walk through the world and the things that we don’t necessarily notice.”
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