Aft
smiling and smirk ing and going like this and that. And then the three ladies come from the other side, and then I turn over to them and I say, ‘Ooh, cougars’. And then I go and I take my attention to them. I knew at the time was that he was a flir t. So I was just playing this kind of, like, I don’t know, horny flir t guy.
Horny flirt guy – that’s such a great description? I know. It sounds so ridiculous. But I didn’t know where the character was going to go. And that was once I started to read the scripts, I’ve said this before, it was my biggest worry was that it was going to come off, like, just one note. And I was really nervous about playing this over-the-top character of a finance douche-y guy, because I was just like, ‘It’s fun, but
it’s not that interesting.’ And I should have never
doubted Mike’s writing. And then as the story went on and I saw where there could be potential arc moments and shifts for him
in body language and in just his 16
Congratulations on your incredible performance, What was the first you knew about your character Saxon? and did you talk to Mike White (creator) first? So, with the first two seasons being as successful as they were, they were being very discreet about this season. I got it in my inbox right after the writer ’s strike had ended and the actor ’s strike had ended. I got the audition, and it was labelled ‘The Secret Garden’, And I was like, ‘Okay’. And then I saw, ‘Written and directed by Mike White’, and I was like, ‘Okay. This is obvious. It’s ‘White Lotus’.’ There were no
scripts.They had finished scripts, but they didn’t let us read it.
It was just three audition scenes, and there was a one-sentence logline about Saxon.
There was nothing about what the story was of the season or the arc or anything. It was just that he was a Southern finance bro that worked under his father - and was a complete flir t. I think that was the logline, something along those lines. And so,
demeanour with the relationship with his siblings and with the ladies, the other girls, and just how the events in episodes five and six were a great turning point for my character.
There’s so much that you do physically, just his the way he walks, his gait, the way he just carries himself is so specific from the beginning until the end. You really see this guy who’s, like, untouchable to watching yearning and sadness and confusion and complexity. tell us about that? Yeah. There’s moments of, like, I always just try to figure out, like, ‘How can I make this character this character while he’s not having
words?’ That was what was really
impor tant to me. And, and I’m so happy Mike let me take some shots at doing some things that I was nervous to do. I thought maybe it’d be too much or whatever.
I got the three audition scenes.
I read them and I had no context. So one of the first audition scenes was episode one where I’m laying in bed with my brother. But at that time, I still didn’t even know he was my brother. And I’m talk ing about how this person is so hot, and she’s obsessed with Buddhism and all of this different stuff. And I had zero idea that I was talk ing about my sister [laughs], because I had no context for it. And, afterwards, when I got the script, I was like, ‘This is insane that that audition was about saying how hot my sister was!’ [laughs] ‘You’re nuts!’
So, the audition, I remember my brother-in-law [Chris Pratt] said, ‘Hey, the first couple seconds of the audition tape the casting director is going to watch, and they’re going to know that he’s right for the role, or he’s the right vibe. Let me watch the
rest of his tapes’.
What did you think would be too much? Like, episode one when I’m getting out of the pool. You know? It’s just written as he walks over to his chair, and he star ts saying, ‘God, like, these long plane rides make me so horny.’ And I was like, ‘You know what, Mike? Is it fine if I go out of the pool and I stop and look at Chelsea and I adjust myself?’ And he was like, ‘That’s hilarious’. And I was like, ‘Okay. And is it fine if I’m on the pool bed, like, laying and I’m k ind of touching myself?’ Like, this is the guy that’s always constantly adjusting himself. And he was like, ‘ It’s per fect. It’s per fect.’
Or sometimes,
unfor tunately, they’ll watch the beginning of it and be like, ‘No’. And then they’ll pass.’ You know? So I did the self-tape and the first five to ten seconds of it, I walked up to the camera, and I just
flir ted with the camera, and k ind of
LIVE24-SEVEN.COM
Another example is at the end of episode one, it was my idea to be naked, which caused the whole uproar. And Mike always wanted it when he was in the bathroom to be naked and to have this scene where, you know, he’s looking at the p-rn, god, this conversation is so… without context [laughs]. It will really show a power dynamic between him and his little brother.’ Saxon doesn’t care about anybody else. He doesn’t have any regard for someone else in the room. It’s his room, and he would sleep naked, and he would walk to the bathroom, and the iPad would be in his hand on the side. It wouldn’t be covering himself, and he wouldn’t scurry to the bathroom. He’d power walk to the bathroom.’ And Mike was like, ‘Okay. If you’re comfor table
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