(Spoilers from HBO’s The White Lotus will be found below.)
Magnetic Aussie actor Murray Bartlett’s been kicking around the TV world for quite some time, but it was his turn in The White Lotus that got everyone’s attention. The show’s a brilliant wealth satire on several fronts, but Bartlett’s luxury resort manager, Armond, sure as heck set the world on fire while taking (much deserved, and if you wanna debate that, feel free to do so) vengeance upon Shane, one of the most obliviously obnoxious characters in recent history.
Armond, of course, took it upon himself to open up Shane’s suitcase and, as Jimmy Kimmel put it on Thursday night, “go #2.” The scene was a visceral and outrageous one that elicited startled responses from anyone who watched, and as Bartlett admitted to Kimmel, he was very surprised to see how “realistic” it looked while watching the scene “in audience mode.” He was actually “taken aback,” and then Bartlett got real about how “there was practical poop, and then they decided to go with CGI.” Apparently, there was chocolate and honey involved in the original version, and that’s far too much detail about this moment, and yet, this is undoubtedly the scene that Murray Bartlett will hear about most for the rest of his career.
Bartlett does, of course, confirm that he’s not in the second season of The White Lotus. That would be impossible unless they went prequel, but you can watch the full first season on HBO Max. Also, as Kimmel and his wife say while remind themselves not to be obnoxious hotel guests, “Don’t be White Lotus.” Sage advice.