{"id":1971245,"date":"2025-08-20T22:20:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T22:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1971245"},"modified":"2025-08-20T22:20:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T22:20:04","slug":"sam-rockwell-confesses-that-he-was-scared-to-perform-emmy-nominated-white-lotus-monologue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/sam-rockwell-confesses-that-he-was-scared-to-perform-emmy-nominated-white-lotus-monologue\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Rockwell confesses that he was \u2018scared\u2019 to perform Emmy-nominated \u2018White Lotus\u2019 monologue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Every generation gets the monologue that pop culture lovers can quote chapter and verse. &#8217;90s kids had <strong>Christopher Walken<\/strong>&#8216;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YFtHjV4c4uw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Pulp Fiction soliloquy;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Pulp Fiction<\/em> soliloquy<\/a> about a POW camp and a very special watch. The 2000s brought us <strong>Sean Astin<\/strong>&#8216;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=k6C8SX0mWP0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:tear-inducing take;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">tear-inducing take<\/a> on the tales that really mattered. (For the record, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0atATbXbQ9g\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the '80s were also Astin's time;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">the &#8217;80s were also Astin&#8217;s time<\/a> courtesy of <em>The Goonies<\/em>.) And the 2010s crown has to go to <strong>Laurie Metcalf<\/strong>&#8216;s barnburning nine-minute monologue from <em>Horace &amp; Pete<\/em> \u2014 a once-acclaimed show that&#8217;s disappeared into the ether following creator <strong>Louis C.K.<\/strong>&#8216;s fall from grace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While there are still a few years left to go in the 2020s, it&#8217;s looking unlikely that anyone will surpass <strong>Sam Rockwell<\/strong>&#8216;s remarkable confessional in Season 3 of <em>The White Lotus<\/em>. The centerpiece sequence of the HBO Max show&#8217;s fifth episode, &#8220;Full-Moon Party,&#8221; the actor&#8217;s lengthy monologue marries heartfelt soul-bearing with wild narrative zigs and zags. In other words, it&#8217;s a pure <strong>Mike White<\/strong> creation \u2014 one that&#8217;s in keeping with the writer-director&#8217;s signature style. And it scored Rockwell an Emmy nomination for Best Drama Supporting Actor. (He was previously nominated for Best Drama Actor in 2019 for <em>Fosse\/Verdon<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>More from Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Mike does something very clever with it where he summarizes the entire season in that monologue,&#8221; Rockwell tells Gold Derby. &#8220;The philosophy of Season 3 is showing how the characters&#8217; search for enlightenment is in conflict with their selfishness and pleasure-seeking. That&#8217;s also a central conflict in human beings: on your best way, you&#8217;re a hero and on your worst day, you&#8217;re a coward. Everybody has both of those things in them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Rockwell and Walton Goggins in <em>The White Lotus<\/em><cite>HBO Max<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/sam-rockwell-frank-white-lotus-234142641.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:As Rockwell previously told us;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">As Rockwell previously told us<\/a>, he inherited the monologue from <strong>Woody Harrelson<\/strong>, who had to surrender his <em>White Lotus<\/em> room key due to scheduling conflicts. Rockwell&#8217;s partner, <strong>Leslie Bibb<\/strong>, had already been cast as Texas housewife Kate Bohr, and she convinced him to step in on short notice as Frank \u2014 a former friend of revenge-seeking tourist Rick Hatchett (<strong>Walton Goggins<\/strong>) who has been on an extended spiritual (and erotic) sojourn in Thailand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I was scared to do it,&#8221; Rockwell confesses. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t have a lot of prep time. But Leslie told me, &#8216;You <em>must<\/em> do this monologue.&#8217; There was no doubt in her mind that it wasn&#8217;t just a good scene \u2014 it was going to be an important one. And Frank&#8217;s monologue really has become this whole other thing that&#8217;s beyond myself, Mike and the show itself. It hit this kind of zeitgeist.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For Rockwell, the trick to nailing Frank&#8217;s monologue was working backwards from the last line \u2014 a technique that&#8217;s often taught in acting classes. He also eschewed wearing an earwig for the sound department to feed him lines, something he says that he&#8217;s only done once during his career \u2014 and it was for a Marvel Studios production.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;There was an emergency on <em>Iron Man 2<\/em> where they had to write a speech for my character over lunch,&#8221; he recalls, referring to the 2010 blockbuster sequel where he played Tony Stark&#8217;s rival, <strong>Justin Hammer<\/strong>. &#8220;I had [writer] <strong>Justin Theroux<\/strong> in my ear prompting me, and then a Marvel executive prompting me. But in this case I had three or four weeks to memorize three pages.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Rockwell in &lt;em&gt;Iron Man 2&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;cite&gt;Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection&lt;\/cite&gt;\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/fklzxMD1JxJUasV7eh3jfg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/gold_derby_993\/9054ab78ba10d632bb04b46523d19367\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Rockwell in <em>Iron Man 2<\/em><cite>Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For the actual <em>White Lotus<\/em> shoot, Rockwell remembers delivering Frank&#8217;s monologue multiple times as White captured the scene from a variety of angles, starting with his close-up. Watching the scene again, the actor&#8217;s facial expressions are almost as memorable as his words \u2014 whether its his eyes darting around the room or the way his mouth occasionally curls into a grin as he reveals details about his life to Rick that he hasn&#8217;t shared with anyone else. Asked if part of his rehearsal process was performing the speech into a mirror to test out different facial tics, Rockwell says that&#8217;s another assist that he generally avoids.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;That leads to self-consciousness,&#8221; he explains. &#8220;Actors are incredibly vain, but when you&#8217;re acting, you must leave all that behind. Sometimes it&#8217;s a good thing for a character to lean into your vanity, again like in <em>Iron Man 2<\/em>. I decided that Justin was a guy who would probably get a spray tan, so I was self-tanning throughout that movie. It provided this insight into the character&#8217;s vanity. But in general, once the camera&#8217;s on, you can&#8217;t think about how you look or it&#8217;s going to get in your head.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Another challenge with Frank&#8217;s monologue was ensuring that some of his more outlandish confessions sounded authentic, and not like the discarded pieces of a comedy routine. Rockwell carefully walks that line throughout the scene, giving a grounded account of his character&#8217;s outsized experiences. That&#8217;s long been the actor&#8217;s general approach to balancing comedy and drama \u2014 save for one movie. Twenty years ago, Rockwell starred as Zaphod Beeblebrox in the 2005 big-screen version of the late <strong>Douglas Adams<\/strong>&#8216;s seminal satire, <em>The Hitchhiker&#8217;s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em>. It&#8217;s the biggest, wildest comedic performance he&#8217;s ever given, and one that still holds a special place in his heart.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox in 2005's &lt;em&gt;The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;cite&gt;Touchstone\/Courtesy Everett Collection&lt;\/cite&gt;\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"635\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/mBV5ydACfDm0DvAHBw04_Q--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzNTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/gold_derby_993\/d2211a9b9b78046909d28379f2855fde\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox in 2005&#8217;s <em>The Hitchhiker&#8217;s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em><cite>Touchstone\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;That movie didn&#8217;t become <em>Ghostbusters<\/em>, let&#8217;s put it that way,&#8221; he says of the <strong>Garth Jennings<\/strong>-directed movie, which famously underperformed at the box office. &#8220;A bunch of people turned the role down \u2014 <strong>Will Ferrell<\/strong>, <strong>Jack Black<\/strong>, <strong>Jim Carrey<\/strong>, the usual suspects. But I saw it as kind of an opportunity do to my own Jim Carrey performance; <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/mask-director-jim-carrey-classic-150000752.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:I was watching stuff like The Mask;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">I was watching stuff like <em>The Mask<\/em><\/a> and consciously tried to do something like that. I also incorporated a little <strong>George W. Bush<\/strong>, <strong>Matthew McConaughey<\/strong> and <strong>Woody Harrelson<\/strong> in there. But I like that movie a lot. It was a lot of fun to make with a lot of practical effects and sets.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Speaking of practical effects, one of Rockwell&#8217;s first-ever film roles provided hime with a crash course in that kind of movie magic. The actor had a small role in 1990&#8217;s live action <em>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em> movie and had to interact with the life-sized turtles and their rodent sensei, Splinter. &#8220;I met one of my best friends on that movie,&#8221; Rockwell recalls. &#8220;<strong>Leif Tilden<\/strong> \u2014 he was in the Donatello suit. God bless animatronics and in-camera effects, right? I think it&#8217;s coming back; we need in-camera effects to come back.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As Frank&#8217;s monologue makes clear, though, Rockwell is already his own special effect in <em>The White Lotus<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Best of Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sign up for <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pages.email.goldderby.com\/signup\/?source=yahoo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Gold Derby's Newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Gold Derby&#8217;s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2RWKMjf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Facebook;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Facebook<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2DLfwuG\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Twitter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Twitter<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2BbVeZE\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Instagram;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goldderby.com\/tv\/2025\/sam-rockwell-emmy-white-lotus-monologue\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Click here to read the full article.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Click here to read the full article. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every generation gets the monologue that pop culture lovers can quote chapter and verse. &#8217;90s kids had Christopher Walken&#8216;s Pulp Fiction soliloquy about a POW camp and a very special watch. The 2000s brought us Sean Astin&#8216;s tear-inducing take on the tales that really mattered. (For the record, the &#8217;80s were also Astin&#8217;s time courtesy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1971246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[350668,320493,350669,350526,350670,325534,51068,348714,169925,314479,350671],"class_list":["post-1971245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-christopher-walken","tag-gold-derby","tag-justin-hammer","tag-justin-theroux","tag-leslie-bibb","tag-mike-white","tag-sam-rockwell","tag-sean-astin","tag-the-white-lotus","tag-white-lotus","tag-woody-harrelson"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Sam-Rockwell-confesses-that-he-was-\u2018scared-to-perform-Emmy-nominated.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1971245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1971246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1971245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1971245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1971245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}