Woody Harrelson recently opened up about his decision to decline joining the cast of The White Lotus season 3.
Months before filming, the Oscar-nominated actor was rumored to be involved in the hit HBO show's Thailand-set third season. However, his name didn't end up making it on the list of confirmed cast members.
Woody Harrelson Clarifies Why He Didn't Join The White Lotus Season 3
In a statement to The Daily Beast, Harrelson addressed the reason why he didn't end up joining The White Lotus season 3 after being rumored to have been in talks to become part of the series.
He denied the reports that it had something to do with money and clarified that it's all because of scheduling conflicts.
"I was set to do White Lotus and very excited. Unfortunately, their production schedule shifted, and conflicted with a pre-planned family vacation, forcing me to make an extremely hard decision," the Oscar nominee explained.
He also singled out Sam Rockwell's performance, as it was the role that he was originally supposed to play. "Things must be meant to be, though, because I couldn’t have done as fantastic a job as Sam, who is killing it," he said.
The actor's reps also provided their statement: "It’s not about money. He was set to do the show, and they moved the date. And because they moved to date, he was no longer available, so they recast. That part was the Sam part."
What Happened in The White Lotus Season 3 Finale?
(WARNING: This section contains SPOILERS about the events in The White Lotus season 3 finale)
The White Lotus season 3 aired its finale last Sunday night. As expected, it ended with major character deaths and a closure to the surviving characters that we've followed throughout the season.
In a Greek tragedy-style ending, it was Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) who met their demise after a tragic shootout where Jim (Scott Glenn) was also gunned down.
"It’s a classic theme of Greek tragedy: someone killing the thing they love while trying to get some revenge," showrunner Mike White explained his decision to kill off the fan-favorite characters.
"Chelsea has this kind of romantic fatalism about their relationship, and you want to buy into it. She says to him, ‘Stop fixating on the love you didn’t get. Think about the love you have! I’m right here!’ It feels like a nice return to the beginning where we find Amrita in this therapy session with Zion. And now we see it in a completely different context. If Amrita had sat with Rick, maybe none of this would have happened."
What do you think of Harrelson's explanation? Let us know in the comments!
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