The White Lotus actor Murray Bartlett has addressed episode 4's cliffhanger, which features his character Armond caught rimming one of his employees when Shane walks in on them.
Bartlett sat down for an exclusive chat with Digital Spy to reflect on filming this scene.
"I think that there's ways to show intimacy, that you don't need to be explicit, and it can be even more intimate and amazing when you don't see stuff," he began to explain.
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In the context of this scene, we wanted to be shocking, and, you know, it is shocking.
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"But I also love that it's not something that we see very often," the actor pointed out.
"In terms of the function of the scene, I think the shock value of that for people who are not used to that kind of... configuration of intimacy [laughs], is really brilliant."
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Further along, he weighed in on the dynamics of Armond's relationship with Dillon, played onscreen by Euphoria's Lukas Gage.
"It felt right in terms of the shock value. And it felt great in terms of: 'Let's show something that is a natural part of sex for a lot of queer people.'
"It serves the scene in such a great way," concluded Bartlett.
Look out for the full interview on Digital Spy after The White Lotus finale airs on August 15th in the US.
The White Lotus streams on HBO and HBO Max in the US. A UK broadcaster and premiere date are yet to be confirmed.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
