Warning – this article contains spoilers for The White Lotus
The White Lotus viewers were left stunned on Sunday night (16th March) as a major star made an unexpected appearance in the latest episode of the third season.
This year’s instalment of Mike White’s hit HBO drama sees a fresh batch of affluent guests vacationing in Thailand, with tensions simmering beneath the surface.
While old friends Kate (played by Leslie Bibb), Laurie (Carrie Coon) and Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) take their girls trip to new heights, the Ratliff family are bracing for a storm as patriarch Timothy (Jason Isaacs) realises he’s in deep trouble upon his return.
Meanwhile, Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) is preoccupied with some business in Bangkok, leaving his young girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) with Timothy’s sons Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola) and her new friend Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon).
Major Oscar-winner’s surprise cameo in The White Lotus explained (Image: HBO)
The fifth episode, Full-Moon Party, saw Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell make a surprise cameo in one of the series’ most unforgettable scenes – but who does he portray?
Rockwell’s character encounters Rick in a Bangkok hotel, and it’s evident they share a past. He also delivers a bag containing something Rick requires.
By the end of their meeting, it’s revealed that the bag holds a gun, which viewers can infer is meant to assassinate the owner of the White Lotus in Thailand, who killed Rick’s father.
Rick and his friend catch up and the latter reveals he’s been sober for the past 10 months. Rick admits that they’ve never spent time together sober, and his friend confesses he quit drinking after his party lifestyle spiralled out of control.
When asked for more details, Rick’s friend delves into a monologue about how his sex addiction led him to some unexpected places. He confesses that his attraction to Asian women convinced him to move to Thailand, where he began picking up multiple women each night, eventually “losing it” after 1,000 such encounters.
Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell makes an appearance as Rick’s old friend (Image: GETTY)
He started questioning his attraction towards Asian women and began introspecting about his identity, wondering if he was sleeping with so many because he wanted to be one of them himself.
Rick’s friend then recounts an incident where he took home a ‘ladyboy’ – the English translation of the Thai word kathoey, which refers to someone born male who presents as female, though not traditionally transgender and instead considered a third gender – something that had happened before. However, this time, the ‘ladyboy’ had sex with him, rather than the other way round.
This encounter led him to realise that what he truly desired was to experience the feeling of being an Asian woman having sex with himself. As a result, he began inviting or sometimes paying men to sleep with him while also hiring an Asian woman to sit and watch.
Rick is left completely baffled when his friend spills the beans, admitting he’s clueless about what it means for his own sense of self. He then shares his life-changing epiphany; realising his booze and drugs habit was wrecking his life, he ditched the substances in favour of Buddhism.
Staying sober isn’t a struggle for him, but he does concede that keeping to a vow of celibacy has put him to the test.
Rockwell is the long-time partner of White Lotus star Leslie Bibb (Image: HBO)
Wrapping up their evening, they exchange farewells and Rick asks for another favour – that his buddy keeps the next evening open too.
As for the identity of his confidante, the character remains nameless throughout, with Rockwell simply billed as “guest starring Sam Rockwell” in the closing titles.
But seeing as they’ve pencilled in another rendezvous for the night after, odds are this high-profile guest star is set for a comeback in episode six, teasing out more secrets about his character.
The White Lotus continues Sundays on HBO and the following Monday on Sky Go and NOW.