Leslie Bibb Says There’s ‘A Little Heather Dubrow’ In Her ‘White Lotus’ Character
Leslie Bibb has to have her Bravo. The White Lotus star recently opened up to Andy Cohen about how the Real Housewives seeped into her performance as Kate, one of a trio of old friends on vacation together at a resort in Thailand in season 3 of the hit HBO series.
Leslie Bibb on how ‘The Real Housewives’ influenced her character in ‘The White Lotus’
Bibb was a guest on the March 20 episode of Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live, where she discussed her role in The White Lotus.
Kate, a housewife from Texas, is on a girls’ trip with her friends Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), a well-known TV personality, and Laurie (Carrie Coon), a high-powered New York attorney who recently went through a difficult divorce. The once-close trio have grown apart in recent years, and they have a habit of gossiping about each other behind each other’s backs.
If that catty behavior looks familiar to Bravo viewers, there’s good reason. Bibb told Cohen she was watching episodes of Real Housewives while on set, and that it likely influenced her performance.
“I was watching the Real Housewives always before scenes,” she said. “I don’t even know. Sometimes I just watch it and I just see what seeps in. That sounds crazy, and then like I don’t even know what’s permeating or there’ll be something. I can’t remember, but I know I was watching a lot of, Beverly Hills was happening, and that was felt in the right world.”
“Maybe a little OC,” she added. “Maybe there’s a little Heather Dubrow in her maybe.”
Bibb wasn’t the only ‘White Lotus’ cast member watching Bravo
Bibb wasn’t the only person binging Bravo ahead of filming The White Lotus Season 3. Jason Isaacs, who plays wealthy Southerner Timothy Ratliff, reportedly drew some inspiration for his character from Southern Charm, specifically cast member Thomas Ravenel.
Sam Nivola, who plays Tim’s youngest son Lochlan, told People that White Lotus creator Mike White urged him and Isaacs to watch the soapy reality series to help get a handle on their characters.
“Mike told us to go watch Southern Charm,” Nivola said. “In fact, Jason Isaacs, who played our dad, kind of modeled his whole accent and character off of [that cast].”
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live (via YouTube), Bibb said she didn’t initially know that Isaacs was using Ravenel as a model for Timothy, a privileged son of a powerful Durham family whose wife and kids don’t know the FBI is investigating him for financial fraud.
“I had no idea,” she told Cohen. “And when I heard that, I thought it was crazy. And then all of the sudden I was like, ‘Oh, that’s the crazy accent he was doing.’ I would hear him on set and I was like, ‘What is that?’ But it felt vaguely familiar.”
The White Lotus airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. Episodes also stream on Max.
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