SPOILERS are ahead for The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 6 – “Denials.”
The White Lotus has been ruling my thoughts in the 2025 TV schedule, and now that we have just two episodes left, I think we need to talk more about Jason Isaacs’ Timothy Ratliff. While on vacation with his family in Thailand, he learns some massively troubling news – he’s being investigated by major newspapers and the FBI, and could return home to prison time and his whole family’s life and fortune ruined. When CinemaBlend spoke to the actor, he addressed taking on the role and his standout scene in Episode 6.
Jason Isaacs Talks Why His The White Lotus Role Is Such A 'Challenge'
While a lot of the conversation around Jason Isaacs and The White Lotus has been about his viral accent and his full-frontal scene, I don’t think we’re talking enough about how difficult of a role Tim Ratliff is. When I talked to the actor during the show’s press day in Los Angeles, I brought up how in early episodes, it’s basically him, a cell phone, and the show’s fantastic score. Here’s how he responded:
There wasn't any music when I was shooting, so it was just me. and a phoner pretending there was someone on the other end. There's lots of scenes you probably haven't seen yet, by myself. I'm either on the phone or I'm by myself. He's got a big secret he keeps from everyone else, which is kind of destroying him from the inside out. And yeah, it was odd. It was a challenge. I remember reading the script thinking, well, obviously I'm gonna do it. It's Mike White's show, and he's a brilliant writer. I've followed and adored him since Chuck and Buck, but I don't know how to carry this off. I don't have dialogue, I don't have dynamics with other people. I've just gotta be this person going through this extraordinary trauma without any way of expressing it, but share it with the audience. And it's tough. I just kept on hoping and trusting in Mike to help me do that. And also knowing that there's stuff coming that is, that he can't keep it in anymore. And, looking forward to that.
Of course, Jason Isaacs found it pretty much impossible to say no to a role in The White Lotus, given how beloved it is, and being a fan himself. But as he spoke about, he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to pull it all off without much to play off except for his own acting. He didn’t even get the chance to really work with some of the other cast members while in Thailand for seven months. Elsewhere in the interview, Isaacs shared that he was “so lonely there” except for when his on-screen kids would keep him company.
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The White Lotus Star Also Had Interesting Thoughts About Episode 6's Monastery Scene
That brings us to where we are with Mr. Ratcliff, who is so internally overwhelmed at this point in the series that he’s even thought about stealing a gun and pulling it on his family before ending his own life. Just prior to that scene, he goes to the monastery his daughter Piper wants to live in and has a big moment with a monk. Considering it was one of the standout scenes of the series so far, here’s what Isaacs said about it to CinemaBlend:
Tim's entire world, his entire personality and everything that he and his family have been for generations, is under threat. In fact, it looks like it's over. And, the only way out for him, as far as he can see is death. That's it. And he's not sure that's the right thing. Is there a hell? He begins to ask these questions to himself he's never asked before. And so, with the Monk, I just wanted to know what does it mean to die? He started to tell all the things he was so certain about, he's uncertain. Maybe this guy is gonna tell him something. And it turns out he's phenomenally wise, and it's incredibly comforting to me to be told that when you die, you go back into the sea of humanity because he's felt so separate from the world. He felt better than, above or fighting to stay above. And there's something incredibly inviting and welcoming and gives [my character] license, possibly to kill myself or other people.
In a trip that has been riddled with anxiety and stress, Tim had his first moment and tranquility when the monk shared his peaceful description of what he thinks happens when people die, calling it a “happy return.” Now, with the episode’s events and Isaacs’ thoughts on it in mind, I’m wondering if he’ll be the shooter we’ve been wondering about.
Of course, there’s so much happening this season. We’re worried about Walter Goggins’ Rick, his two sons have just given new meaning to brotherly love, and there’s Tanya’s shady husband, Greg Hunt, at the resort. We’ll learn more once the next episode airs this Sunday!
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Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer
Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.
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