Sam Rockwell Has Checked In for Some Debauchery at The White Lotus

The following story contains spoilers for The White Lotus season 3, episode 5, “Full-Moon Party.”

ALL SEASON LONG, The White Lotus has been slow-playing the reveal as to what, exactly, Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) is up to in Thailand. In episode 4, we finally get an answer—he tells his girlfriend, Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), that he believes the owner of the White Lotus they’re staying at, Jim Hollinger (played by Scott Glenn, whom we’ve only seen in a photo thus far), is actually the man responsible for his father’s death when he was just a kid. And so he’s come to Thailand—and needs to go into Bangkok—to get some closure (and perhaps some revenge too).

In episode 5, Rick finally arrives in Bangkok, and meets with an old friend with a very familiar face: that of Academy Award-winning actor Sam Rockwell. Goggins’s performance as Rick is already bringing something totally unique to The White Lotus; his energy is unlike what anyone else in the show is doing or has done in previous seasons. In contrast, the high-energy Rockwell, playing a mysterious figure named Frank, bounces off of him perfectly, always smiling and fast-talking.

Rick and Frank have an extremely lived-in relationship; from the moment they see and greet each other with pleasantries and a big hug, it’s clear that there’s a lot of unspoken history between these two friends, despite the fact that it’s clearly been a long time since their last meeting.

When the two decide to catch up is when things start getting really interesting. Sitting at a bar, Rick orders a Dewar’s whiskey—and is surprised when Frank orders a Chamomile tea; he doesn’t think they’ve ever hung out sober before. “I took the partying thing as far as it could go,” he tells Rick, also making it clear that he’s “found religion” and that he’s into Buddhism now. This comes in stark contrast to the reality that Frank also is there to hand Rick “what he asked for,” which later turns out to be a gun. “I hope you don’t have to use that,” Frank says, again, to Rick’s surprise. Rick accuses Frank of getting a tender heart on him, perhaps revealing the tone of the kinds of things these two used to get up to.

The standout moment, though, comes later, as Frank reveals to Rick his recent life story and what he’s been up to. Mike White has gotten much acclaim for his work on all three seasons of The White Lotus, but Frank’s monologue, as delivered by Sam Rockwell, may just be his shining jewel. The way his story just gets wilder and wilder, more outlandish and more outlandish as it goes on and on is a masterwork, and Rockwell’s commitment to the story, without even a hint of a wink or a smile, is what makes it so completely worth it.

Rick, throughout Frank’s story of what he’s been up to in Thailand after he was forced to leave the United States (uh, yeah, casual detail there!), has a series of unforgettable expressions on his face, uncertain how he could possibly react to the story of sexual exploits and deviancy that Frank discusses. We are right there with Rick with each twist and turn taken.

“Am I middle-aged white guy on the inside, too?” Frank eventually asks as his story reaches a crescendo. “Or, inside, could I be an asian girl?”

“Right,” Rick answers without an idea in the world as to what is going on. “I don’t know.”

“I guess I was trying to fuck my way to the answer,” Rockwell once again delivers like the Oscar-winner he is.

The White Lotus has always been a show that writes in an engaging way that draws you into a good monologue. Frank’s story is wild, and it’s one that Rick can hardly understand—except for one, glaring, shared north star: you have to follow your truth. Rick has discussed all season long that his childhood trauma has, essentially, haunted his whole life. If he’s ever going to move on, he needs to confront Jim, whether that’s with the gun that Frank gave him or not. And at the end of the episode, as he opens the bag and looks at it, we’re meant to contemplate the (very near) future along with him.

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Sam Rockwell has connections to multiple The White Lotus season 3 cast members

Rockwell’s appearance in The White Lotus is a major and fun surprise—but we shouldn’t be too shocked. First and foremost, he’s been in a relationship with White Lotus star Leslie Bibb (who plays Kate in season 3) since 2007; the pair have appeared in the same film together twice before, in both Iron Man 2 and Don Verdean. Bibb was also frequently seen during Rockwell’s awards run for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (for which he eventually won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) when he often thanked her during his speeches.

It’s likely that Rockwell traveled with Bibb to film The White Lotus in Thailand, and Mike White, the resourceful man he is, figured out a way to work him into the show.

“I think initially there was someone else that was going to play this, and so when that didn’t work out for whatever reason, it was really only one person—and that was Sam Rockwell,” Goggins told Vanity Fair in an interview, adding that the two have been close friends ever since filming the 2011 movie Cowboys & Aliens, but hadn’t worked on anything together since.

“Further complicating this collaboration is that Sam is my hero,” Goggins continued. “He’s really one of the guys in my generation that I look up to, and he knows that. So coming into this experience, there was a certain amount of anxiety, meaning I didn’t want to let my friend down.“

Rockwell and Goggins are also long time friends. Last year, Goggins posted a photo with both Rockwell and Pedro Pascal to his Instagram. “I miss and love you boys so much!!” he wrote.

“Oh @waltongogginsbonafide this photo of Sammy and P…” Bibb commented. “The best ❤️❤️❤️”

Goggins also posted a photo back in 2017 of Rockwell teaching his son, Augustus, how to throw a rope like a cowboy. “We had a visit tonight and it ‘‘twas good” …” he wrote.

Clearly, just like Rick and Frank in The White Lotus, these two old pals go way back. Rockwell will next be seen in director Gore Verbinski’s (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Ring) major motion picture return, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. If he keeps up the speed of what he’s bringing to The White Lotus, movie fans are going to be in very good shape.