Will Sharpe Admits He Had Concerns About One 'Problematic' Aspect Of The White Lotus

Will Sharpe as Ethan in The White Lotus

The White Lotus star Will Sharpe has admitted he had one reservation about the show when he first read the script.

Will played Ethan Spiller – the on-screen husband of Aubrey Plaza’s character, Harper – in the award-winning second season of the satirical dramedy, which was set in Sicily.

In a new interview with Mr Porter’s The Journal, the British actor admitted his character’s behaviour was something that “as the actor, I need to separate myself from the ethics of it”, referring to the toxic masculinity tropes he and co-star Theo James explored on screen.

He explained: “Historically, there has been a tendency in the west of emasculating Asian men on screen, and Ethan is quite emasculated for the majority of the series.

“I remember thinking that were it not for the fact that this is subverted in the final episode, and get to see a different side to him, that would potentially be problematic – but I guess that’s part of the tension.”

Will Sharpe photographed for Mr Porter

Last week, White Lotus producer David Bernad revealed that the team originally had a very different actor in mind to play Ethan.

“Originally it was supposed to be Evan Peters, but for whatever reason – scheduling or timing – it didn’t work out,” he explained.

After the Dahmer star dropped out of the project, producers found themselves “really trying to figure out how to cast that part so it didn’t feel like familiar casting”.

David eventually came across Will while “jetlagged Googling at 4am” and discovered the BBC series Giri/Haji.

Will and co-star Aubrey Plaza at the SAG Awards on Sunday

The White Lotus was the biggest TV winner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards over the weekend, where Will and his co-stars scooped Best Performance By An Ensemble In A TV Show.

Read Will Sharpe’s full interview in Mr Porter’s The Journal here.

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