Woody Harrelson explains why he rejected ‘The White Lotus’
The White Lotus season three, which concluded on April 6th, almost starred Woody Harrelson. However, the actor turned the hit series down and his decision wasn’t related to money.
At one point during the casting process, Harrelson was in the running to play Rick and was also being considered for his friend, Frank. In the end, the roles went to Walton Goggins and Sam Rockwell who both excelled as their respective characters. Nevertheless, for a while, the team behind the series were gunning for Harrelson.
When it came out that Harrelson had turned down a role on the show, the immediate speculation was that the reason came down to money. The show is run in a different and surprising way financially to most programmes, as producer David Bernad has a stipulation that all cast members are paid the same salary, no matter their experience or notoriety.
However, the actor has now discussed the decision, revealing the true reason why he decided to reject the show.
“I was set to do The White Lotus and very excited,” he told The Daily Beast, “Unfortunately, their production schedule shifted and conflicted with a pre-planned family vacation, forcing me to make an extremely hard decision.”
While it would be easy for Harrelson to be bitter about this missed role, he complimented the work of the cast. The actor added, “Things must be meant to be, though, because I couldn’t have done as fantastic a job as Sam [Rockwell], who is killing it.”
The role of Frank would have seen Harrelson playing opposite Goggins in a kind of double act. Goggins plays Rick, a man who appears to be on a luxury holiday just like the rest of the characters, but he’s actually there pursuing the man he thinks murdered his father, with Rockwell’s character Frank drafted in to help him.
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