Why Mike White Was Shocked Jon Gries Keeps Returning to The White Lotus

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Gary/Greg continues to live on in the White Lotus universe.

Initially, Jon Gries didn’t play the character in every season of the HBO drama; however, he is now the only actor to portray him across all three seasons, as he recently disclosed.

Every time, it has always struck me as astonishing. And that was my sentiment during our cast panel at the White Lotus event on April 6th, presented by American Express.” But in a more conversational tone, you could say: “So far, every time I experience it, it just blows my mind!

And even creator Mike White is shocked he keeps bringing Jon’s character back for more.

Indeed, Mike is who I encountered last night,” he added. “He said to me, ‘I honestly didn’t think we’d cross paths again after our initial meeting.’ Isn’t that remarkable? Considering the span of three whole seasons! I find it utterly amusing and can’t help but feel grateful every day.

As a devoted fan, I’ve been on quite a journey alongside this character, initially introduced as Greg, the charming guest who courted Jennifer Coolidge’s enigmatic heiress Tanya McQuoid in the first season, only to find himself married to her by the second. This season, now known as Gary, he’s basking in the opulence of life with his new lover Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), seemingly benefiting from Tanya’s fortune—despite the unresolved mysteries surrounding her demise.

One of the rare individuals who continues to pose those questions is Belinda, portrayed by Natasha Rothwell, who was the spa manager in season one and is currently on an exchange at the resort’s Thailand location. However, she can be persuaded to keep quiet about it all with the money provided to establish her own high-end spa. This character development has left many viewers, including Jon, with even more questions.

He remarked, ‘Season two left me more astonished than expected.’ I suppose the sheer magnitude of his wealth took me aback. Frankly, I found myself defending him after season two, saying things like, ‘He wasn’t there. He didn’t kill her. They couldn’t prove it in a court of law, you’d never be able to prove it.’ In reality, everyone else is deceased.

And still, the Napoleon Dynamite alum admitted he turned to Mike to fill in the blanks.

He mentioned, “The other day, I found myself approaching Mike, and I admitted, ‘I keep telling myself that I never truly meant to harm her.’ However, those were just my thoughts processing. So, I felt it was important to discuss this with him. He replied, ‘You already know who you are. You’ve always known your character. You’re well aware of the role you’ve played.’ At that point, I asked, ‘Are you saying I might be a psychopath?’

And according to Jon, Mike replied, “Psychopath!”

It’s been confirmed that season four of “White Lotus” will air, but as for whether Gary will be back, that information hasn’t been disclosed yet. If given the chance, Jennifer has hinted that Mike would ensure Gary faces some trouble if he decides to return to “The White Lotus“.

She expressed to TopMob News on March 30 that she is unsure of Mike’s intentions for Greg, but she hopes something unfortunate occurs in his life. “Don’t you agree that something bad should befall Greg?” she added.

Keep reading for more about season three of The White Lotus…

How do you feel about that? The performer commonly known as Lisa transitioned from being a global rockstar with K-pop group Blackpink, alongside members Jisoo, Jennie, and Rosé, to putting on the White Lotus staff outfit for her grand entrance as Mook in her new role.

It seems that Lucius Malfoy, from the Harry Potter series, apparently failed to catch the train to Hogwarts and ended up at The White Lotus resort instead. Indeed, he’s back on our screens, sporting a new look without his iconic blond hair. However, he continues to portray a pompous character as he takes on the role of Timothy Ratliff, a well-off businessman enjoying a vacation with his wife and three children.

In addition to his past roles, Isaac has also been featured on television shows such as Robot Chicken, The Great, and Sex Education (sharing screen time with his White Lotus co-star Aimee Lou Wood.)

Instead of shouting upon encountering it, remember that Posey, who portrays Timothy’s wife Victoria Ratliff, might seem recognizable from her roles in movies like “Superman Returns,” “Blade: Trinity,” “Scream 3” and “Dazed and Confused.” She’s also made appearances on various TV series such as “Parks and Recreation,” “New Girl,” “Portlandia,” “Search Party,” among others.

However, dedicated romantic comedy enthusiasts would recognize her as Patricia Eden, Tom Hanks’ girlfriend in the 1998 beloved film “You’ve Got Mail”, where she starred as Joe Fox.

Although he is recognized primarily from family snapshots as the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, he has previously established his acting career in shows like Gen V, The Terminal List, and The Staircase, even before appearing as Saxon Ratliff in the third season.

Before playing the role of Piper, the Ratliffs’ daughter, Hook had already dabbled in horror and fantasy roles. Specifically, she portrayed Debbie Glatzel in “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” Juliette Fairmont in “First Kill,” and Elena Milak in “Monsterland.

Apart from recognizing her as Caroline Merteuil in the 2024 remake of “Cruel Intentions,” you might also be familiar with her character, Catherine Allday Davis, portrayed by her in Ryan Murphy’s cinematic universe – specifically, in the series “Impeachment: American Crime Story” that tackles the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Nivola, currently in a relationship with Iris Apatow (daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann), joins the Ratliff family as the character young Lochlan. However, prior to setting foot in Thailand, he was featured in another series centered around a wealthy beach family – ‘The Perfect Couple’. Here, he portrayed Will Winbury, son of Greer and Tag Winbury, characters played by Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber respectively. Notably, Nivola also shared screen time with Meghann Fahy, a cast member from ‘White Lotus’, who was Daphne Sullivan in season two of the HBO series and later portrayed Merritt Monaco on ‘The Perfect Couple’.

Besides these roles, Nivola can be seen performing alongside Adam Driver in “White Noise”, Bradley Cooper in “Maestro”, and Anne Hathaway in either “With” or “In” a different production.

Absolutely, viewers of “White Lotus” may recall Rothwell from season one where she portrayed the spa guru Belinda in Maui. Interestingly, she is set to reprise this role for season three. Moreover, her acting skills have been showcased in shows like “Insecure”, “Wonka”, “A Year and Change”, and “Love, Simon”. Additionally, she has added her comedic talent to “Saturday Night Live” as a writer from 2014 to 2015.

Previously known for her role as Iron Man’s co-star, she is now gearing up to play Kate in the TV series ‘The White Lotus’. She has recently been seen on screen as Dinah Donahue in ‘Palm Royale’ and as Grace Kennedy-Sampson in ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’.

The actress who shone during the Gilded Age era, and is also known from shows like The Sinner, Fargo, and The Leftovers, will play Laurie this season. This time, she teams up with friends Kate and Jaclyn for a girls’ holiday in Thailand.

In her role as Jaclyn on The White Lotus, she indeed portrays a TV star. However, off-screen, she’s a bona fide television star herself, with appearances in True Detective, Bad Monkey, Messiah, and The Path. On the silver screen, she has played Julia in Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Angie Genaro in Gone Baby Gone.

You’ll have a sense of reassurance that it’s not just your imagination—Goggins does seem familiar. Apart from acting in two films directed by Quentin Tarantino (portraying Billy Crash in Django Unchained and Sheriff Chris Mannix in The Hateful Eight), he is also widely recognized for his role as Boyd Crowder on Justified from 2010 to 2015.

In the third season, a free-spirited character named Chelsea, portrayed by an English actress, enters the cast. She shares an age-gap relationship with Rick Hatchett, played by Goggins. However, she is predominantly recognized for her role as Aimee Gibbs in Netflix’s “Sex Education” and has previously appeared in “Seize Them!” and “Daddy Issues”.

Her acting career can be traced back over 50 years, beginning with the role of Grounded God in 1975, and more recently, she played Prani Chiraanan on the show In Family We Trust in 2018.

This individual, who is both a singer and a veteran, has acting roles in films such as “Mechanic: Resurrection”, “Skin Trade” and “Paradox”, and he portrayed Pao on the television show “Farang”.

Should the 13 minutes not suffice for you to recall where you’ve seen the German actor, let us jog your memory. He portrayed Rudolf Höss in “The Zone of Interest,” Reinhold Gräf in “Babylon Berlin,” and Georg Elser in “13 Minutes.

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2025-04-07 18:17