Meet the Men on 'White Lotus' Season 3

Openly gay creator Mike White is back as writer and director for the third installment of the smash hit series which debuts on Sunday, February 16, 2025, on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.

The latest slow-burn-to-a-sizzle social satire is set at an exclusive Thai resort and follows the same "Fantasy Island"-type premise as previous sesons, where a slew of guests arrives with their legion of idiosyncrasies while the hotel employees have their own agendas going on. Besides unconventional sexual habits, this anthology installment explores such topics as God and spirituality; free will vs. fate; the definition of family; and, given the show's track record, privileged entitlement vs. working class values. And there are beaucoup monkeys.

There is no Jennifer Coolidge to camp things up, but we do have Parker Posey as an affluent matriarch, with a Southern drawl you have to hear to believe, and Jason Issacs is her troubled husband. They've come to Thailand at the behest of their Buddhist-interested daughter (Sarah Catherine Hook) and brought along their two sons (Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola). A trio of BFFs played by Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon and Leslie Bibb are also staying at this White Lotus, while an irascible Walton Goggins and his glass-half-full girlfriend, Aimee Lou Wood, round out the guests.

The show's first two seasons saw 43 Emmy nominations and 15 wins, including consecutive ones as Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, and two for Coolidge in the supporting category. Who can forget how she thanked the "evil gays" who were out to murder her on a yacht off the Sicilian coast in her acceptance speech? (Though not murdered, her character did die in one of the show's more brilliant dark turns, so don't expect her in Thailand.)

In addition, homoerotic moments, explicit male nudity, and sexual situations pervaded the first two seasons, so the promise of a queer-tinged, salacious season three has us tingling and, without giving anything away, the queer aspects in this chapter will make certain heads spin.

But who are the hotties of Season 3?

Patrick Schwarzenegger

The son of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick has those hot Kennedy looks and acting chops to back it up. (Sorry, Arnold!)

The young Schwarzenegger plays Saxon Ratliffe, a sexy/sleazy rich boy who thinks he's all that. Saxon is only along for the ride, and his goal is to sleep with as many women as possible. But he experiences something that truly rattles him. When Sam Nivola, who plays his brother, commented at a recent press conference that they share a room, Patrick quickly said: "We share more than a room!"

No stranger to nudity, Schwarzenegger bares quite a bit on the series. He's already been naked in the indie "Daniel Isn't Real," as well as on "The Boys" spinoff series "Gen V." Other film credits include "Stuck in Love" (2012), "Dear Eleanor" (2016), and "Midnight Sun" (2018). He had a prominent role experimenting with his same-sex attraction in the HBO true crime miniseries "The Staircase," with Colin Firth and Toni Collette. His next feature is "Billy Knight," opposite Al Pacino.

"White Lotus" should bring him a slew of brand-new gay fans.

Sam Nivola

Twenty-one-year-old cutie Sam Nivola is another son of famous parents, Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer.

Nivola plays Lachlan Ratliff, the super-close brother of Schwarzenegger's Saxon, but he's much nicer, with his own bits of repression.

A relative newcomer to the business, Nivola has already made his mark in Noah Baumbach's "White Noise" (2022), William Oldroyd's stunning "Eileen" (2023), and Bradley Cooper's Oscar-nominated "Maestro" (2023), and, via streaming, with last year's Netflix murder-mystery sensation, "The Perfect Couple," opposite Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber.

Like his dad, Alessandro ("Junebug," "Laurel Canyon"), Sam doesn't shy away from intimate scenes and nudity. "It was my first nude scene... the first time kissing someone, and that comes with a certain amount of anxiety," Nivola offered at the presser. "[Mike White] made us feel comfortable."

Tayme Thapthimthong

London-born Thai actor Tayme Thapthimthong plays the demure resort gate attendant Gaitok, who is in love with childhood sweetheart Mook (Lalisa Manoban, of K-pop's Blackpink), who also works at the hotel. She has never considered him dating material, but he longs to change that, and his ambitions get him into potential trouble.

Thapthimthong appeared in the Swedish-Thai crime series, "Farang." Prior to acting, he served in the Royal Thai Army and was a Physical Training instructor for the Thai Army's Counter Terrorist unit. He was also part of the Armed Forces Security Center, Thailand's CIA equivalent. He's had a smattering of parts in international TV, but "The White Lotus" is his first major role. It's almost certain we will be seeing more of him.

Nicholas Duvernay

Handsome Nicholas Duvernay opens the series in a chilling scene (I will not divulge details) as Zion Lindsey, the son of Belinda Lindsey, played by Emmy nominee Natasha Rothwell, a Season One favorite.

He's best known for playing Armando in Netflix's "Purple Hearts," directed by Liz Allen, and has appeared on TV in "Gritz" and "The Winchesters," and had recurring roles in the sitcom "Tyler Perry's Assisted Living" and the reimagined "Fresh Prince" drama "BEL-AIR."

Arnas Fedaravičius

Lithuanian thesp Arnas Fedaravičius plays the yummy "energy healer" Valentin, who is in charge of accommodating the trio of bestie cougars played by Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, and Leslie Bibb. We get to see quite a bit of the hot thesp in his own steamy scene.

Fedaravičius played Sihtric in the British series "The Last Kingdom." Other credits include the crime drama "Deadly Code" (2013), "Chasing Solace" (2015), and "Gila" (2020). Coming up he will be seen in Jean-François Richet's crime thriller "Mutiny," with Jason Statham and Annabelle Wallis.

Julian Kostov

Born in Bulgaria, the sly and mischievous-looking Julian Kostov plays Valentin's hunky Russian friend, Alexy, who flirts with the besties and sheds most of his clothes in the process.

He is probably best known for his role in the Netflix show "Shadow and Bone," and he also had a significant part in the spy series "Alex Rider." Kostov was inspired to pursue acting by Heath Ledger's performance in "The Dark Knight." His film credits include "London Has Fallen" (2016), "Another Mother's Son" (2017), and Bulgaria's International Feature Oscar submission this year, "Triumph," opposite Maria Bakalova, where he delivers a very funny and impressive turn.

Yuri Kolokolnikov

Russian-born Yuri Kolokolnikov plays Vlad, the third member of the trio of Russian hotties tending to the Cougar Town gals, and the one who strips down to nothing in a swimming pool scene. He's also the only real Russian.

Kolokolnikov played Styr in the fourth season of the smash HBO series "Game of Thrones," as well as Gennadi Bystrov in the popular F/X show "The Americans." Film credits include Patrick Hughes's "The Hitman's Bodyguard" (2017), Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" (2020), and JC Chandor's "Craven the Hunter" (2024).

He is no stranger to nudity, via his Eastern European cinematic endeavors, having gone bare in "Intimate Parts" (2013) and "Petrov's Flu" (2021).

Walton Goggins

Proving you can still be killer sexy in your 50s, Walton Goggins plays the irritable Rick Hatchett, who's simultaneously mean and sweet to his gf, Chelsea (the always awesome Wood), but harbors his own secret.

Goggins may not drop trou here, but he was naked in earlier work, like the TV series "The Righteous Gemstones" and "Vice Principals." LGBTQ+ fans may recall his same-sex kiss with Dan Montgomery in Tag Purvis's gay-themed "Red Dirt" (2000). The actor has appeared in many films, including "The Apostle" (1997), "Joy Ride" (2001), "House of 1000 Corpses" (2003, Spielberg's "Lincoln" (2012), Tarantino's "Django Unchained" (2012), "The Hateful Eight" (2015), and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (2019).

His TV credits are numerous, and include major roles on "The Shield," "Justified" (Emmy nomination), "Sons of Anarchy," and "Fallout" (Emmy nomination).

Jason Issacs

Jason Issacs plays the distraught Bernie-Madoff-esque Timothy Ratliff, who is married to Posey's happily clueless Victoria. He spends the lion's share of the first six episodes worried about his illegal shenanigans being exposed.

The Golden Globe-nominated actor has been featured in many films, including, "The End of the Affair" (1999), "The Patriot" (2000), "Black Hawk Down" (2001), "Green Zone" (2010), "The Death of Stalin" (2017), "Mass" (2021), and all the "Harry Potter" films. He played a drag queen in "Sweet November" (2001).

On stage in London, Isaacs played Louis in Tony Kushner's seminal "gay fantasia," "Angels in America," in its premiere at the Royal National Theatre in 1992.

On TV he was the lead in the USA action series "Dig," where he also appeared nude, and he played Captain Gabriel Lorca on "Star Trek: Discovery."

Issacs has a rather startling bare moment that may break social media. Trust me.