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Spoilers follow forThe White Lotusseason-three episode seven, Killer Instincts.
Few things are as stressful to watch as the slow unraveling of a character likeThe White Lotuss Timothy Ratliff.
I dont want to spoil whats coming, says Isaacs.
But it does lead to something.
It bursts at some point.
I promised them a thumb drive, which I havent delivered yet.
I realized the shows over in a few weeks and I have this massive archive of pictures.
I thought Id post them every day, but I did it one day and got tired and stopped.
So maybe this conversation will inspire me to do some more.
Though, she really can do anything.
But yes, its odd, and its certainly not like anything thats ever happened to me before.
Im pretending its not happening.
It wasnt a holiday.
Some people got very close, there were friendships that were made and friendships that were lost.
Any that you want to share?[Laughs.]
Did the cast dynamics inform how you played Tim?I really dont know.
I just venture to be Tim Ratliff in his situation.
Ive played opposite people I barely knew and we looked like we absolutely loved each other.
Ive played with people I know very well and the relationships dont work.
Was that the case for you with Tim?Mike invites you in right from the beginning.
But as far as which bits I contributed, its 99.9 percent him.
I had some suggestions and he took them completely onboard.
What were your suggestions?Im trying to work out whether its loyal or not to say.
But Mike was definitely open to suggestions.
Does he really want me to do that?
That seems outrageous, but what the hell, hes the arbiter of taste.Then hed say cut.
The first thing hed do is throw a compliment out, which is great direction.
Then hed start muttering to himself and youd realize hes playing the whole scene out as all the characters.
He could play any of our parts better than we could.
Id like to see the version ofThe White Lotuswhere he does play all the parts.
Im sure it would be wonderful.
Can you tell me about the technicality of the scenes where Timothy has no dialogue?
I didnt want to play those scenes as Tim snoring on the couch.
I took some solace from the fact that have you heard of the Kuleshov experiment?
So with Tim, I figured the audience is going to know whats going on with him.
I took from the monk as Timothy some relief.
Hes always felt other, if not better than, the rest of society.
What he takes from this conversation is tremendous comfort that hell just be like other people when hes dead.
And yet, Mike has chosen him to strip down to the bare essence of his ego.
Hes listening to every syllable, and hes hanging on to every word.
It provides him some comfort.
Its a beautiful scene.
In a recent interview with HBO you mentioned that you loved Murray Bartletts performance as Armond in season one.
Did you take inspiration from Armonds descent into chaos?I did think about the madness.
I wanted the audience to sense how insane Tim is going.
Its partly for himself, but its more for the family.
He does love his kids, even though hes disappointed by all of them in different ways.
But he doesnt tell Saxon because theres no way out of this.
Hes still thinking in his drugged-up state that maybe hell come up with something.
I thought Patrick played that scene so beautifully.
Right, it seems like Saxon is gaining more clarity while Timothy is actually getting further from it.Hes maturing!
I dont know if hes discovering things about himself that have always been there or new things are developing.
My future is tied to you.
Well, there are two kids left.
At this point, Tim is thinking Piper will probably be all right.
I dont know what he thinks about Lochlan, but he knows Lochlan isnt like him.
He doesnt have the same set of values, so Tim has some hope for the other two kids.
But hes thinking Victoria and Saxon will be better off.
By the way, hes thinking about all of this while hes out of his mind on drugs.
But Im not sure that hes wrong.
From his mind-set, it seems like the most sensible choice.
Every episode was considerably longer, and we all shot scenes that didnt end up in the show.
But there will be me and Lochlan, dont worry.
Victoria is clearly supportive and encouraging, but theyre not very affectionate with each other.
Is that something you and Parker discussed?We didnt really discuss it.
Its in the script that they arrive and they are very unconnected.
He looks around and theres just nothing but disappointment.
You see them as the age they were when you got together.
You dont even notice the changes in them that much.
Timothy and Victoria have raised these children together and theyve had a life together.
I dont know that he wants to look too clearly at what that life has become.
So its not that theyre unaffectionate with each other, they just dont connect.
Shes out of it, then hes out of it.
This is the funny thing about acting.
Numerous people wrote to me about that scene with the monk because its such a lovely scene.
In all of this, Im just thinking what Timothy is thinking.
So with the gun, I run through every single scenario in my head like he would do.
He thinks,Where the fuck is the gun?
Does my wife have it?
Did the guy come back and get it?
Does my son have it?
Have I forgotten it?
Youve played a couple notable father figures in your time.
The older Ive gotten and the more experience I have, the less preparation I do.
