“The White Lotus” Director Didn’t Want to Cast BLACKPINK’s Lisa, Despite Her Almost Crying?
On January 24 (local time), magazine TIME published an article regarding the upcoming HBO series “The White Lotus” Season 3.
Here, the director of the series discussed the casting of BLACKPINK’s Lisa, saying, “Honestly, I was resistant because I don’t think we need more attention on the show. But she did a great audition and I think she’s a great actress. I’m really happy we cast her because she’s a real source of pride for the Thai people. It’s almost like she’s a pop star and also Princess Diana!”
Meanwhile, Tayme Thapthimthong, a Thai star who worked with Lisa, recalled his experience of meeting her.
“The first time I met her at the cast dinner I was really nervous,” he said, adding, “I didn’t even shake her hand. But she was like, ‘Hey, do you want to get a drink?’ And we just hit it off. We both like hip-hop and tequila!”
According to Tayme, Lisa helped him a lot with phrasing, as his character is an island kid.
Meanwhile, previously on August 12th, ELLE released a photoshoot of BLACKPINK’s Lisa and an interview with her. During the interview, Lisa revealed honest feelings about her acting challenge in HBO’s original series “The White Lotus Season 3”.
“The White Lotus” is a drama depicting stories happening in a hotel, and season 3 was filmed primarily in Phuket, Koh Samui, and Bangkok, Thailand. Lisa stated, “Since we filmed in my home country, I got to eat Thai food every day and had many precious opportunities to keep my Mom close while shooting.”
Regarding the process of joining “The White Lotus 3” team, Lisa said, “I didn’t tell my Mom and friends that I did an audition. I almost cried when I heard that I got cast for the role. Since this is my first acting project, I was very excited and nervous at the same time”, adding “Upon hearing the casting news, I felt happy for a short moment, and thought ‘How should I tell others about this?’ right after that”.
Lisa did not mention her specific role in “The White Lotus”, however, she shared, “I took acting classes, but I doubted my acting skills at first. It’s new to me, but I guess it’s kinda similar to shooting a music video. I hope fans would enjoy it”, adding “Watching this series, I think people will love Thailand even more”, showing her pride.
Meanwhile, BLACKPINK decided to renew their group contract with YG Entertainment in December last year, but not their individual contract. Since then, the members have been active “separately but together”. Lisa set up her personal label LLOUD and released her solo album in June. The new single “Rockstar” highlights Lisa’s powerful rap and energetic vocal very well.
Regarding her activities, Lisa confessed, “I’m proud to be BLACKPINK and I love the members. It is not just because of our fans, it’s for ourselves. There was no doubt. This is our life”.
She added, “To myself when I was a 13-year-old trainee, I wanted to tell her to just go ahead. You will not want to ruin all this. Don’t think too much about the future and just focus on what you are doing. Don’t give in. Never quit.”