Michelle Monaghan is no stranger to gripping roles, but her latest character in The White Lotus takes things to another level. A longtime fan of the hit series, Michelle jumped at the chance to play Jaclyn, a TV actress navigating a complex girls’ trip at a luxurious (and deeply chaotic) Thai resort.
In this Q&A, she spills on everything from behind-the-scenes friendships with co-stars Carrie Coon and Leslie Bibb to filming in a real spa retreat—yes, she made the most of the massages. Plus, she dives into The White Lotus’s darker themes this season, her own love of travel, and what it was like working with creator Mike White.
How did you how did you feel about joining the show? Were you a fan of it?
I was such a huge fan of the show, of course, just like everyone else. I loved Season 1 and Season 2. I was completely taken by it, and when the opportunity presented itself to audition for the role of Jaclyn, I obviously jumped at the chance and had a good old-fashioned pinch-me moment when I found out that I got the job. It was very exciting.
I love the rivalry between the three friends. It’s an interesting dynamic. What were those scenes like to do?
They were fun because they’re very sort of nuanced and also a bit heightened, and it was something that Mike was really keen to explore. This idea of how women compare themselves to each other and judge themselves and the way that we’ve been kind of conditioned to be competitive. It was something that Mike had witnessed in his own life. All of us were very excited to find out what that dynamic looked like from episode to episode because you’ll see, as you progress in the series, how that power shift changes and it’s very, very interesting and very complicated.
Could you relate to that yourself? Have you had holidays like that with girlfriends?
I haven’t had holidays like that myself but I think we would all agree that we’ve seen those kinds of relationships, those kinds of friendships, female or male, and what Mike does so brilliantly is that he kind of puts that front and centre. I think people who watch it will find it to be quite relatable and even kind of cringe-worthy. And that’s what he does so beautifully, with all of his characters. They are all a bit grey. He keeps you guessing.
How did you get on with Carrie Coon and Leslie Bibb who play Laurie and Kate? Had you met them before?
I’d met Leslie before but we hadn’t worked together. The three of us ladies actually landed in Thailand first so we were there without any other cast and we basically lived together and we got to have two weeks of prep where we would run lines together. We actually did a lot of water aerobics together too, and a lot of eating! You know, just hanging out and getting to know each other. It was a really special time.
You film at a proper spa resort, don’t you?
Oh yeah. It’s amazing. It’s not a place that I would take myself unless somebody else was paying for it! It was really special and we all got to live there, work there, eat there. We were all essentially under one roof. So it was a very unique and definitely a rare experience.
Did you get the chance to enjoy some of the spa treatments?
Oh definitely. I’m not a fool! That’s one of my favourite pastimes if I’m at a hotel. Thai massage is just one of my favourite types of massage ever. All of the treatments are beautiful. They’re infused with beautiful scents and flowers and all the things that Thailand has to offer, and they’re all very spiritual and beautiful. It’s a lovely place to relax.
Did you have to go out of season so that there were not too many guests?
There were a number of hotels that we shot in. The White Lotus resort that you see in the show is actually a compilation of about five or six various hotels. So, we were nomads, and we travelled within Thailand, quite a bit. Some of the hotels we bought out, so to speak. So the cast and the crew would all stay under one roof, and then a few other hotels we would actually share the hotel with other guests.
What was the weather like? Was it very hot?
Very hot. It was actually the hottest year on record and even the Thai people said it was really extreme. The climate was taxing, especially around March, April, May, but the locals said, ‘Oh, just wait.’ And then we were like, ‘Wow, they weren’t lying.’ It was hot, because of the humidity, but you’ve got the beauty that kind of distracts you from the heat and you can always cool off in a pool.
You’ve been quite vocal about the dangers of the sun. Were you very careful to keep out of it?
Oh, I was beyond careful. I don’t spend a lot of time in the sun. There was a lot of re-application of SPF throughout the shoot.
How would you describe your character Jaclyn?
Jaclyn is a TV actress. She is going on a girls trip with her lifelong friends she has known since childhood. And she’s footing the bill for this trip. I think she likes the idea that she gets to treat them. I also think that she might like having the upper hand and being in control and likes the idea that she’s taking her friends on vacation. She might be slightly manipulative. The ladies – we refer to them as ‘the ladies’ in the storyline – are presenting their best selves. The show is a slow boil but we will start to see that facade melt away, in what you think is their perfect lives. You find out they’ve got some secrets and some things that you know are going to hit boiling point.
This season seems slightly darker in tone than the previous two.
That is a theme that Mike really wanted to lean into. The theme for this season is death and spirituality and he really wanted to play within the area of light and dark with every storyline. What’s brilliant about him is that he took bits of Western culture, you know, the bits that are kind of shiny and also shallow, and he juxtaposes that with the deep philosophy and spirituality of Thailand’s Eastern culture. What you get from that is haunting and beautiful and kind of amusing, depending on where the storylines take you throughout the season. You’ve got a lot of people coming to this specific resort, which is a detox resort in Thailand, with a spiritual deficit that is confronted in some very dark ways.
Are you in tune yourself with spirituality? Does that interest you?
Oh, my gosh, absolutely. I’m definitely a spiritual person. I’m a meditator. There are certain things I really believe in, a lot of mindfulness. I think that’s really important. And Thailand was just such a beautiful place to be able to explore all that. It’s a profoundly beautiful country and Buddhism is a beautiful religion.
Did you get the chance to go out and visit other places?
Yeah. One of the great things about having such a big cast in multiple storylines is that you had days where you could go out and explore and have adventures. And so we visited a lot of temples from Bangkok to Ko Samui to Phuket. We spent a lot of time on boats visiting all the various islands. I went diving a lot. We ate a lot! The cuisine is something special there. We got out and about quite a bit. You know, I’m a bit of an adventurer. I have a lot of wanderlust. And my family was there, at times, and so we got to do a lot of exploring. It was wonderful. And the ‘guests’ at the resort in the storyline do a lot of exploring this year, which is a departure from season one and season two. You see the guests doing a lot of sightseeing and I think that as a result of that, the scope of the show feels much bigger in season three.
Had you been there in Thailand before?
No, this was the first visit but it’s been on my list of places to go for a long time.
We arrived at the beginning of February 2024 and I left mid-August. 2024
Was it one of the nicest jobs you’ve had?
Oh my gosh, 100%. It was just fully immersive. I’ve been a fan of Mike’s for a couple of decades so it was, honest to God, a dream come true to work with him. I consider him a visionary. He’s an actor, a writer, director. He’s brilliant. And to be able to go and shoot something like that in such an extraordinary location with such a wonderful cast… those things don’t come along that often. I’ve been doing this for 25 years, so I can say that I know that to be true.
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