Jennifer Coolidge’s portrayal of the grieving, lonely, and rich Tanya McQuoid stood out as being especially revelatory among all the great performances on HBO’s dark comedy-drama series The White Lotus. The plot revolves around the guests and employees of the fictitious White Lotus resort chain, whose interactions are influenced by their various psychosocial disorders.
The actress, best known for her roles in comedies such as Best in Show and Legally Blonde, discovered that filming Mike White’s show was far from easy. Coolidge once discussed in depth the series’ unexpected psychological effects. She admitted in a candid interview with Variety’s Actors on Actors that the tense shoot left her feeling paranoid for a while after, fearing that her fellow cast members would push her overboard.
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Jennifer Coolidge’s ‘Creepy’ The White Lotus Experience
Jennifer Coolidge gained a large following while portraying Tanya McQuoid on The White Lotus for two seasons. Despite her tragic death, she ended the season two finale on a happy note by shooting her attackers before jumping overboard.
In an interview with The Bear actor Jeremy Allen White, who appeared in Variety’s Actors on Actors, Coolidge, 62, the American Pie actress discussed the end of her character and how she is now terrified of boats:
“It’s the scariest thing to be on a boat. I’m never getting on a boat again. So I was creeped out, because we did shoot it in order, hanging out with the guys. It felt very real. I really did like killing them all.”
The show’s creator, Mike White, informed the actress that Tanya would have a “horrible ending” at the beginning of the season. Coolidge added:
“But he said it more like, ‘I’m sorry, Jennifer, but you’re going to have to die’.”
Regarding the actual shooting, Coolidge claimed that Tanya’s own fear was “really helped” by her own “awkwardness” with the gun. She continued by saying:
“We had to reshoot that a bunch of times. Where’s the gun? The inside of the bag is black. I can’t find it. But it all felt real. When you’re on a boat and you’re in the middle of the ocean and there is nowhere to go, what if your castmates hate you? They could just push you. Anyone can get rid of you on a boat.”
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Jennifer Coolidge Nearly Turned Down The White Lotus?
Mike White’s show was being filmed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and Jennifer Coolidge was in lockdown and at her lowest point. She informed The Guardian:
“I was really affected by the pandemic. It was an incredibly sad time. I was reading tragic news stories on a daily basis, had a fatalistic approach, and assumed the virus was going to win. I knew people who lost their lives and was convinced we wouldn’t make it through. I wasn’t thinking about work, because I didn’t think we’d be alive.”
This is not to say she did not struggle; in a separate interview with Thrillist, Coolidge discussed experiencing violent seasickness while filming the breathtaking boat scene in which she threw her mother’s ashes into the water. To quote her:
“I told Mike that I didn’t want to shoot that scene, or maybe we could fake the water, but we couldn’t do it on the sea because I get so deathly ill…”
The series was well-received by critics. It won many awards, including ten Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes. For her performance as Tanya in The White Lotus, Coolidge received a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award.
The White Lotus is streaming on Max.
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