The White Lotus would not be the same show without Jennifer Coolidge‘s Tanya McQuoid. But according to Coolidge, when the show’s creator approached her about the role, she nearly passed on it.
During an actor’s round table conducted by The Hollywood Reporter, Coolidge revealed that when The White Lotus showrunner Mike White first told her that his series had been green-lit, she was happy for him, but had no intention of joining the cast.
“We were like six months into COVID, and I’d been locked up in my house in New Orleans just pigging out on these vegan pizzas,” Coolidge said. “A good friend and I were doing two at breakfast, two at lunch and two at dinner. We were in COVID, no one knew I’d be getting a call going, ‘Hey Jennifer, my show got greenlit, let’s go do it. And it’s all going to be on a beach in bathing suits!’ So, I was just like, ‘No, I’m not doing this,’ but I didn’t tell Mike I wasn’t doing it. I just said, ‘Oh, that’s so nice, Mike. God, congratulations.'”
Coolidge said that she experienced a lot of feelings of “self hate and not being prepared,” so she resisted the role, which would eventually earn her an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her performance.
“I think this happens to actresses a lot. You sit around and bitch your whole life that you’ve never been given the role of your dreams, and then when it comes, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I can’t do it. I ate a bunch of pizza,'” she said. “You can ruin it. And thank God I have a bestie that just caught on to my bullcrap. She knew exactly what I was doing, and she was like, ‘You are an idiot. I’m not going to let you do this.'”
Coolidge played Tanya for two seasons, crafting a character beloved by fans, up until her dramatic death in the Season 2 finale. As for whether we’ll ever see Tanya again, White has said it’s “absolutely possible” for Tanya to appear on the show again, and they might even use de-aging technology to create a prequel series.
“It’s a funny idea,” White told Deadline. “And making Jennifer, you know, 20 years younger, that would be fun too. I think Jennifer’s like, ‘Sure, let’s do it!’”
The White Lotus Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Max.