The actor was originally set to play the role that eventually went to Will Sharpe.
The White Lotus could have looked a little different in season 2. Executive producer David Bernad revealed Dahmer star Evan Peters was originally set to play the character of Ethan Spiller, a role that eventually went to Giri/Haji's Will Sharpe.
"That part was the last part we cast in the season, and originally it was supposed to be Evan Peters, but for whatever reason -- scheduling or timing -- it didn’t work out,” Bernad revealed recently at the Berlinale Series Market in Germany, according to Deadline.
In the sophomore season of HBO's Emmy-winning series, tech entrepreneur and workaholic Ethan (Spiller) goes on a couples' vacation with his wife, Harper (Aubrey Plaza); and his college friend, Cameron (Theo James), and his wife, Daphne (Meghann Fahy).
Even though Peters' casting didn't work out on White Lotus, Bernad shared that a late-night online search seeking fresh faces led him to Sharpe.
“We were really trying to figure how to cast that part so it didn’t feel like familiar casting,” he explained. “We were in Rome auditioning Italian actors and I was jetlagged Googling at 4 a.m. and I came across Will Sharpe in Giri/Haji, which is a brilliant show in the U.K. I’d never seen him before and he was just incredibly talented. I looked at his other work and realized he was kind of a chameleon.”
Bernad also discussed speculation that season 3 will take place in Japan, following creator Mike White's remarks that if the series made it to a third year, he was interested in exploring it as a potential setting, and cast member Johnny Knoxville accidentally adding fuel to the fire in a recent interview.
"We’ve tried to work in Asia a lot and hopefully season 3 will be our chance to make something happen there,” Bernad answered in response to the rumors.
Following the shocking season 2 finale, which saw Jennifer Coolidge's beloved Tanya McQuoid-Hunt's surprising death, the actress spoke with ET after winning the Golden Globe in January about the chances of her returning to the franchise somehow.
"I don't think so," Coolidge said. "I don't know. I mean, he might, you know. You never know."
But the actress left the door open should she get the call from White, saying, "I am game."
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