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Sam Rockwell's monologue in The White Lotus Season 3 is among the most discussed scenes in the show. The scene, during which Rockwell's character reveals his past to an old friend played by Walton Goggins, was taxing and intensely personal. But how did he rehearse for it?
According to his longtime acting coach, Terry Knickerbocker, the rehearsal process was meticulous, taking months of prep work. Rockwell was reluctant to take on the role at first but ended up committing because of the difficulty of the monologue and the fact that he could work with Goggins.
His method consisted of dissecting the text, looking for personal connections, and applying acting techniques that he has developed over many decades.
How Sam Rockwell landed The White Lotus Season 3 role
Knickerbocker said Rockwell was surprised at this opportunity.
“He was saying, ‘What do you think? Should I take this job?’” Knickerbocker remembered.
Rockwell doesn't do much television, so this was a big choice. The part also had a demanding monologue that tapped into themes of identity and transformation. Having the opportunity to share the screen with his partner, Leslie Bibb, who had already been cast in the series, also weighed in on the decision.
"The offer came from [creator] Mike White personally after another actor dropped out of the role at the last minute," Knickerbocker said.
Months of preparation for a single monologue in The White Lotus Season 3
Rockwell and Knickerbocker have collaborated since 1991, and their work on this monologue was no exception. Knickerbocker told that they spent months on it.
"We were just trying to find the shape of it. What are the beats? What words are useful to play around with?" he described.
Rockwell's character in the monologue had to think about what had happened to him in the past, such as his fight against substance abuse and his conversion to Buddhism. But Rockwell didn't connect with those things on a personal level.
"Sam’s an introspective person and he knows himself very well, but he’s not a spiritual person," Knickerbocker said.
They needed to discover some kind of analogy for the performance that wasn't the spirituality.
"We had to find some sort of analog to that, whether it was about his relationship to family or to art or to animals. He’s got a strong connection to animals."
Knickerbocker also likened the monologue's form to a classic film performance:
"We referred to Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now — an iconic look into the dark soul of a strange man.”
The Execution: On The White Lotus Season 3 set in Thailand
Once Rockwell was on set, he continued to hone the performance.
“He felt good about it. He felt really good about it."
“I think he said, ‘Yeah, it went well.’”
Rockwell employed what he called the "particularization" method, in which an actor trades details from their own life for a scene's authenticity.
“You collect these notes and particularizations and you write them on your script. And you use them along the way to personalize the material.”
This method even created some surprising character decisions.
“When I did Three Billboards, I stammered when I said ‘mama’ one time when I was reading for Terry,” Rockwell remembered.
“He said, ‘Do that again.’ And I said, ‘Do what again?’ ‘You stammered when you said mama.’ So then we developed that into a thing for the character.’ That’s just a light bulb moment.”
Though difficult to act out such a powerful scene, Rockwell felt assured about his preparation.
He’s not a braggart, but I would say he has an internal barometer for how things are going,” Knickerbocker said.
“I think he said, ‘Yeah, it went well.’”
In discussing his approach, Rockwell stressed the importance of preparation:
"There’s no such thing as being overly prepared."
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Sam Rockwell's monologue in The White Lotus Season 3 was the product of months of rigorous work. Reluctant at first to accept the role, he was persuaded by the power of the writing and the difficulty of the scene.
With the assistance of acting coach Terry Knickerbocker, he analyzed the monologue, discovered personal resonances, and performed it with accuracy.
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