[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 1 finale of The White Lotus, “Departures.”]
Over the course of the six episodes of the limited HBO series The White Lotus, written and directed by Mike White (HBO’s Enlightened), a group of guests have expressed their needs and wants for their vacation in paradise while also pushing each other to emotional limits they didn’t know they were capable of. As things got more dramatic and demanding, hotel manager Armond (Murray Bartlett) found himself at a breaking point that lead to an unstoppable downward spiral of his own. The cast also includes Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Lacy, Sydney Sweeney, Brittany O’Grady, Fred Hechinger, and Natasha Rothwell.
During a virtual junket to discuss the series, Collider got the opportunity to chat 1-on-1 with Bartlett about how he appreciates the risk that White took in casting him, that he was not fully aware of what his story arc would be, shooting the sex scene, the shocking moments in the finale, and how he felt about the way it all ended.
Collider: When this came your way, was this a project that you had to audition for or was it more of a meeting and conversation?
MURRAY BARTLETT: Yeah, it was a job that I auditioned for. I was a big fan of Mike White and still am, actually, even more so now. I just auditioned and, fortunately, he saw something that he liked and that was it. There was one audition, and then I had a brief conversation with him. He really took a risk, which I appreciate. It was in the middle of the pandemic, so we were all locked down. There was no face-to-face meeting.
Did you know the extent of what you would be getting yourself into with this, or did that come, later on?
BARTLETT: That came later on. I was totally up for it, but when I auditioned for it, I’d only read the scenes that they gave me. And then, shortly after that, I got the first episode. But when I signed up for the job, I hadn’t read anything more, so there were a lot of surprises. I’m familiar with Mike White’s work and I love the way he sees the world, or the characters he creates. I had no concerns about it, but there was still some real surprises, which were exciting to me. I got to dive into this amazingly rich character.
You have a sex scene in this, in your character’s office, and with one of the young men working at the hotel. Having sex while on the clock at work is risky enough, but then he also doesn’t lock the door. Do you think, by that point, that action was intentional? What do you think was going through his head?
BARTLETT: No, I think he’s messy. It’s drug-induced. By that point, he’s unraveling enough that he’s just not thinking straight. From the very beginning of the show, he messes up the booking of a room. He’s a little unstable, at that point. He’s a little worn down by everything that’s going on and you’re starting to see the cracks. The cracks just get wider and wider, as the show goes on. So, by that point, he’s just careless because he’s lost in his mania a bit. He’s taking drugs, so he’s not thinking straight.
What was that whole scene like to shoot?
BARTLETT: Shooting scenes like that is just always awkward. It sounds fun in concept and you’re like, “Oh, my God, this is gonna be really funny.” And then, you’ve gotta do the reality. It was such a fun set and such great actors, and Mike is so respectful and wonderful on set. I didn’t feel unsafe or strange or anything, but it’s always a little awkward doing super personal or intimate things, surrounded by a group of people.
And that moment seems really tricky because it is about that initial reveal behind the door. Was there a lot of conversation about exactly how to catch that?
BARTLETT: Yeah, there’s a lot of thoughtfulness put into these kinds of things, especially now, thankfully. Before we started shooting, I had a bit of conversation with Mike and we had an intimacy coordinator. It’s all very talked through. We talked about what we were comfortable with, all of the different options, and all of that kind of stuff. It’s very sensitively done to make sure that everyone is comfortable. Fortunately, we were both super comfortable. I really trust Mike, so we were like, “All right, let’s go for it.”
As the season continued, Jake Lacy’s character Shane became more and more of the nemesis to your character. Everything leads up to that moment where your character breaks into his hotel room to leave him a gift in his suitcase. When you found out about that moment, what was your reaction?
BARTLETT: I think it’s brilliant because it’s so shocking. What I love about Mike White’s writing is that characters sometimes fall off the edge and do something extreme that is really shocking and that you don’t expect. It’s like posing the question, “What would it look like, if this character actually went through with it and did what they really want to do?” Also, Armond, at that point, is really high on drugs and he’s lost any sense of inhibition. What happens when we take away all of our inhibitions and do exactly what we want, fueled by this pent-up rage? It’s scary.
How did you shoot that? Did you have a rig set up? Was it CGI?
BARTLETT: You don’t want me to destroy the magic of that moment, do you? It was a combination of things. I wouldn’t want to demystify it too much. I feel like people should just receive it the way that it comes, so to speak.
We learned in the first episode that someone died at the hotel, and in the last episode we learn that someone was you. What was your reaction to learning that? How did you feel about his fate?
BARTLETT: I was really surprised. It was not what I expected, but I wasn’t sure. The first time I read it, I was guessing who it might be. But I loved it because it’s a release for Armond, in a sad, tragic way. He’s living in a hell in his own mind, and with these obnoxious people. I’m not sure how else he would have ended. In a weird, tragic way, it seemed fitting. I also feel for the character, as multi-faceted as he is. Some of those facets are just really ugly. This guy is just lost in his own mind and in this insane world, and he feels trapped and frustrated. I feel for him, but at the same time, I’m like, “Well, maybe in the next life he’ll have a better experience.”
It just doesn’t seem like the customer service industry is the right place for Armond.
BARTLETT: Yeah, maybe not. Scenes come and go, and there were scenes where he was a performer. I loved that aspect of his history, where he really wanted to be an actor, and he is an actor in that role, but it’s unfulfilled, in terms of his original dream. So, I was carrying that as a personal story, which was in some things, but then some of those things fell away.
Was it also really fun to be the one at the center of all of this, with all of these weird, wild, eccentric characters?
BARTLETT: Yeah, you feel like the ringleader at a circus. It was such an incredible cast. It’s an amazing ensemble cast with such talented people. They’re actors who I really admire. I was in a lucky position of being able to interact with all of them, at some point. It was really amazing. The great thing about this show is that it’s a big cast, but it’s a really strong cast. Everyone is really strong and everyone gets such a great story. It’s exciting in that way. You get to be with so many characters in such a fulfilling way.
The White Lotus is available to stream at HBO Max.
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