Natasha Rothwell talks about returning to Belinda and the collaborative process she and Mike White underwent to evolve her character in The White Lotus: Thailand.
Natasha Rothwell received her first performance Emmy nomination for her beloved portrayal of Belinda Lindsey in the first season of The White Lotus. That season, set in Maui, broke hearts as Belinda saw her dreams of owning her own health spa crushed by the manic and indecisive Tanya McQuoid (2-time Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge). Belinda’s story may have ended sadly in Maui, but her story was not over.
Writer-director Mike White and Rothwell revisited Belinda this Emmy season in The White Lotus: Thailand. There, Belinda embarks on an exchange program to learn new healing techniques from the Asian-set White Lotus resort. On this journey, Rothwell guides Belinda through a new journey of self-discovery, of allowing herself to fall in love, and of an unexpected financial windfall.
Initially, returning to Belinda felt a little odd, but fellow Emmy nominee Carrie Coon gave Rothwell the perfect analogy.
“Carrie Coon gave me the best analogy. She said whenever you put on a character again, it’s like putting on a wet bathing suit. It’s a little weird, but then once you have it on and you jump in the water, it feels the same,” Rothwell said. “And I felt that way with Belinda. When I was on set, my shoulders left my ears, and I was like, oh, there she is. She’s here. It felt so wonderful to put her on again.”
Now Emmy nominated for her Thailand performance, Rothwell experienced a similar emotional reaction to her infamous and widely celebrated reaction to her first Emmy nomination. Only, as she tells The Contending in the following video interview, she shared it with British hotel employees who didn’t fully understand what exactly an Emmy was.
She also talks about the collaborative process she and Mike White underwent to expand and explore the character of Belinda. A seemingly throwaway scene with Belinda seeing another Black vacationing couple represents a deeply personal experience for Rothwell. She also worked with White to give Belinda more agency and control over her life in the monumental negotiation with Tanya’s widower, Greg (Jon Gries).
Finally, Rothwell reveals Belinda’s spiritual awakening while in Thailand. It’s not the kind of spiritual awakening where she finds God. Belinda is already a deeply spiritual person. Instead, her spiritual awakening, according to Rothwell, was brought on by her unexpected change in personal fortune.
“She’s figuring out what it’s like to really commune with herself and understand where she stands in the grand scheme of things and ask those big questions. I do think that is the luxury of financial security. It allows you the space to indulge in that curiosity,” Rothwell revealed.
All three seasons of The White Lotus stream exclusively on HBO MAX.
