Morgana O’Reilly in a still from ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Morgana O’Reilly had the role of a lifetime playing the cheerful Pam in the third season of Mike White’s social satire, The White Lotus. After Hawaii and Sicily, Season 3 was set in a luxury resort in Thailand. As the wellness mentor to the wealthy Ratliffs played by Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey with Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook and Sam Nivola playing their children, Morgana gets to take away their devices for a digital detox.
“Oh, look at me. I’m so judgmental when I see kids on devices,” Morgana says with a laugh over a video call from Sydney, Australia. “’Get off the device’, I can say on the show and that’s my whole thing. I’m a bit holier than thou about the fact that I charge my phone away from my bed now. I feel like that changed my life (laughs).”
Distance from her phone, ensured Morgana started reading again. “Remember books? They’re these crazy rectangle things, filled with paper and the words.” You should try it,” the 39-year-old New Zealander says with a twinkle in her eye. “Everyone should give them a go. Sometimes when the phone is taking too much of my life, I feel there is just a lot of reactivity.”
ALSO READ:A glimpse into some of the filming locations of the third season of ‘The White Lotus’
Historically, there were times, Morgana says, when sugar or alcohol was introduced to certain populations. “You can see how it decimated people if you’re not able to keep it under control. In the future, we would be talking of people who are addicted to their devices, especially if they’ve been brought up on them.”
The White Lotus experience, Morgana says, was amazing. “It’s very big and overwhelming and a dream come true.” The White Lotus is prestige anthology television at its gorgeous and glossy best. Set in luxury resorts across the globe, White uses a death to frame a week in the life of the privileged as it comes apart. There is an upstairs-downstairs dynamic going on with the staff at the hotels having to keep their faces on for the guests irrespective of what is going on in their personal lives.
Morgana O’Reilly in a still from ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Remember the brilliant Murray Bartlett as the resort manager, Armond, telling a trainee to be a “pleasant interchangeable helper,” in Season 1? Morgana auditioned and got the role of Pam. “I loved Season 1 and 2. When I saw that the role was that of a staff member, I wanted to give her the layers of somebody who was fighting her own demons underneath, and had a firmly placed mask of civility over the top.”
Morgana revealed she also listened to The White Lotus soundtrack. “It got me into the tone of the show.”
Her first day of shooting was special. “There was a long time when I figured that this was a scam. (laughs) And then I got sent the scripts, and I was like, this is an elaborate scam. And then I got contracts, anyway… “
A still from ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
When she finally got to the set, Morgana thought everyone would be busy with their work. “It was like, rubber hits the road, and I was preparing myself to feel on my own. Everyone’s there to work. It’s not like anyone has to be my friend, but the first day of shoot, everyone was so lovely and playful. And working with Parker Posey, who’s been a real idol of mine for so long, was amazing. To watch her work, and her being so welcoming and awesome was an incredible highlight for me.”
The White Lotus is currently streaming on Jio Hotstar
Published – April 10, 2025 02:33 pm IST
