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Emmy-winning satire The White Lotus returns, with an all-new luxury resort and a fresh array of troubled vacationers
He is only 32, but Adam DiMarco may as well retire from acting. “I’m going to go out on top,” jokes the Ontario native, who is part of the much-anticipated second season of The White Lotus. “This is by far the favourite project I’ve ever worked on. The location, the cast, the scripts—it’s definitely going to be hard to beat.”
DiMarco’s feelings are understandable. After the first season of a show that became the most-awarded limited series at this year’s Emmys, creator Mike White’s twisted brainchild is back for a second outing, once again with Emmy-winner Jennifer Coolidge at the helm. This time, Tanya McQuoid travels to the hotel chain’s establishment in Sicily, where her recent marriage to Greg (Jon Gries, who is also back for a repeat performance) is already hitting a snag. HBO CanadaAs expected, they are not the only family unit in trouble. Aubrey Plaza and Will Sharpe play a married couple who seem to have settled into platonic companionship, unlike their perpetually and annoyingly affectionate travel companions played by Meghann Fahy and Theo James. Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham and DiMarco play three generations of a family on a journey to discover their Italian roots. Enter two local escorts into the playpen, and you’ve got a circus ready to roll. “The season still delves into that privilege and class that they explored the first season, but a lot of that is presumed from the fact that this is a very expensive resort,” says DiMarco. “This season, Mike White has turned it into more of a bedroom farce with sexual politics at play. It’s a very sex-themed season, whether that be sexual addiction or infidelity or using sex as power or a game.” HBO CanadaDiMarco portrays recent Stanford graduate Albie, a young man on a path to making the world a better place through urban planning, and seemingly a more sensitive breed than his father and grandfather. “Albie has a complicated relationship with them, where he loves them, but sometimes he’s embarrassed by his grandfather, whether it be his sexually aggressive remarks to a waitress or farting [in public],” says DiMarco. “His relationship with his father is definitely strained, as well. His father has been back to his old ways of infidelity, which has caused a rift in the family. I think Albie is in Sicily to try and help repair that in a way, or at least educate his father. But then he gets caught up in his own shenanigans at the White Lotus, as you do.”HBO CanadaPlaying his scenes opposite Academy Award-winner Abraham and Sopranos alum Imperioli was slightly anxiety-inducing for DiMarco. “I don’t know if it ever went away, but I was able to just accept it and channel it into the character,” he concedes, adding that no part of reacting to the two was a challenge. “They’re both such legends and masters of their craft. It was the easiest. I just had to simply sit there and be present and listen to them and roll with what they were putting down. I learned, working with both of them, to riff and go off the page at times. That’s where you can find some cool unexpected stuff.” HBO CanadaWhen asked what makes Mr. White unique as a showrunner, DiMarco praises the creator for seeing things in him and his castmates that make for unexpected moments on the series. “He’ll extract that for the character and make it a part of the script,” says DiMarco. “And sometimes you watch something and you’re like, ‘All of these characters sound the same, because they’re written by the same person.’ With his scripts, you don’t have that, but you do feel this weird connection with him because you’re playing a specific part of his personality. It feels very personal.” HBO CanadaAs a fan of the inaugural season, any fear the actor may have had about the second season not being up to par quickly went away once he received the scripts. “They’re pretty much foolproof. They’re just the best scripts I’ve ever read,” he says. And like the Hawaiian vacation where no arc felt like a supporting act, DiMarco promises that every single character in Sicily gets their due. “For me, it feels like my favourite character would change every episode and all of the storylines are intriguing, which is very rare. I genuinely think that every episode has a moment where a different character pops and they each have a satisfying arc. And Mike’s so great at tying up those little bows at the end—they’re almost like these little presents for the audience.”
White Lotus airs Sundays on HBO Canada