Where Are They Now? Grading The Careers Of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 1 Cast
It’s been a hot minute since The White Lotus first brought us out of our pandemic reveries and introduced us to Tanya McQuoid.
In the years since, we have weathered Labubus, a warming climate, and the Second Coming of Bennifer. We’ve even been blessed with two more White Lotus seasons. And yet, through it all, many of us have looked back fondly on The White Lotus’s first, compelling season of murder, mystery, and mayhem. It was even successful enough to shape the careers of its many cast members. With that in mind, let’s review the main cast’s progress reports since Season 1 premiered in 2021.
1. Murray Bartlett (Armond)
As Armond, he won our sympathy even as he made us cringe. A driving force in the first season, he went on to win an Emmy for his work – a feat that many of his costars failed to replicate. Then he proceeded to star in that episode of The Last of Us (you know, the one with Nick Offerman). Even if he hadn’t landed significant roles in the buzzy Welcome to Chippendales and Season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers, the Last of Us role would have been enough for us. Grade: B
2. Connie Britton (Nicole)
Britton hasn’t yet won a role in a show as ubiquitous as The White Lotus or American Horror Story, but she’s at least appearing in prestige projects. In addition to showing up in the Apple TV+ adaptation of Dear Edward, she starred alongside Robert De Niro in the Netflix series Zero Day. However, her best recent role — and we’re definitely biased — has been as Benny’s mom on Overcompensating. Grade: B-
3. Jennifer Coolidge (Tanya)
Coolidge was already a cult icon before The White Lotus. However, this show gave her career a second wind and allowed her to not only appear on two consecutive seasons, but win Emmys for both of them. She immediately transformed from cult icon and Stifler’s mom to beloved character actress, and later appeared in major movies like the blockbuster A Minecraft Movie . Plus, Legally Blonde 3 is reportedly in pre-production, so it’s safe to say that Coolidge is doing just fine. Grade: A
4. Alexandra Daddario (Rachel)
With large, innocent eyes reminiscent of Dobby the House Elf, Daddario was a remarkable presence as Rachel the Mid Journalist. It’s perhaps surprising that she’s only been in one relatively buzzy project since 2021: As Rowan in Mayfair Witches. Grade: C
5. Fred Hechinger (Quinn)
The White Lotus was Hechinger’s breakout, allowing him to act in two movies that Quinn would have definitely seen on opening night: Kraven the Hunter and Gladiator II. Add to that a role in the Oscar-nominated Nickel Boys, and it sounds like our Quinn is making it work. Grade: B+
6. Jake Lacy (Shane)
According to IMDB, he is currently working. Grade: C-
7. Brittany O’Grady (Paula)
Also currently working, but less than Jake Lacy. Grade: D
8. Natasha Rothwell (Belinda)
Rothwell is one of the few White Lotus actors to appear in multiple seasons. She has also been an excellent audience surrogate, so it’s no wonder that her career got a boost from this show. Rothwell has appeared in several big budget projects since 2021. Though her excellent series How to Die Alone was sadly cancelled, her clear writing and comedic talents have hinted at an even more promising future. Grade: B
9. Steve Zahn (Mark)
Zahn has had a couple of semi-buzzy roles on The Righteous Gemstones and Apple TV+’s Silo, but nothing truly major. However, he’s currently working on an action-comedy remake of Anaconda starring Jack Black, which sounds amazing and 100% makes up for all that. Grade: B-
10. Sydney Sweeney (Olivia)
Meh. Grade: A+
Bonus non-main cast member: Lukas Gage (Dillon)
Even though Gage didn’t have a huge role on The White Lotus Season 1, his shocking sex scene with Murray Bartlett was buzzy enough to jumpstart his career. After The White Lotus, he started to appear in seemingly every queer project known to humankind: Overcompensating, Companion, Dead Boy Detectives. He’s also been in major productions like Fargo, Smile 2, and You. As Uta Hagen once said, one anilingus scene can make or break a career. Grade: A
