The White Lotus star Theo James has revealed his nude scene was originally more “aggressive”, with a full-frontal shot eventually being cut.
In the premiere for the second season of the HBO show, James’ character Cameron undresses in front of Harper (Aubrey Plaza), leaving her confused by her husband’s friend’s actions.
James, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, disclosed that the scene was originally far more revealing, with the actor explaining why it was cut from the final edit.
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“The original derivation of [that scene was] kind of full-frontal. We shot that and it felt too much, too aggressive,” he said. “What we came to is a bit more opaque, and that's exactly what Mike [White, series creator] does so well.”
James, who this year appeared in The Time Traveler’s Wife, commended the showrunner further, saying the scene was “interesting” for its mystery.
“I thought it was very interesting but also very White Lotus in a Mike way. What he does is tread the boundary of how calculated that was, or was it just easy-breezy?” he said. “[It’s] exactly what Mike does so well. You're never sure a hundred percent of the characters' intentions.”
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When the scene aired at the end of last month, fans flocked to social media to express their opinions, with one fan saying: “I thought I had seen the most naked Theo James in The Time Traveler’s Wife but that scene in The White Lotus, oh help me, God!”
The second season of The White Lotus takes place in Sicily, with other cast including F Murray Abraham, Haley Lu Richardson and Tom Hollander. Jennifer Coolidge and Jon Gries reprise their roles from the first season, which was set in Hawaii.
Originally intended as a limited series, the show won 10 prizes at the Emmy Awards, with its critical and commercial success leading HBO to renew the show as an anthology.
The White Lotus airs on HBO Max in the US and on Sky Atlantic in the UK. New episodes air on Mondays at 9pm in the UK, with catch-up available on Sky Go.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
