‘The White Lotus' cast's surprising salaries revealed

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It pays to be in the White Lotus.

The HBO series has their characters unwinding (and ) in the around the world. That shared comfort carries over to the actors’ real-life salaries, where one of the show’s producers David Bernard revealed the —which currently includes Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jason Isaacs, Blackpink’s Lisa and Natasha Rothwell—gets equal pay.

“Everyone is treated the same on White Lotus,” David detailed in an interview with on April 2. “They get paid the same, and we do alphabetical billing, so you’re getting people who want to do the project for the right reasons.”

According to THR, who also cited multiple sources, the show’s regular actors make “roughly $40,000 an episode.”

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David noted this salary is “not negotiable,” and the team used their billing system—which they created to help fund the show’s first season in 2021—to make this price point. THR reports that cost “$4 million an episode,” while its ’s budget in Thailand raised between “$6 million and $7 million.”

And so far, this surprising fixed rate has worked for the popular series. The show’s casting director, Meredith Tucker, explained this approach has leveled the playing field.

“It makes it so much easier,” she continued. “You tell people this is what it is. And some won’t do it — and honestly, you can’t hold it against people who need to make a living. Our series regulars are pretty much doing this for scale.”

Elsewhere in the interview, White Lotus creator Mike White shared that Thailand wasn’t his dream location pick for season three. In fact, he had his eye on another spot in Asia.

“Originally, I wanted to shoot in Japan,” the 54-year-old director added. “I was in Thailand when my dad and I got eliminated from The Amazing Race — two weeks in an elimination station with all these other bitter reality contestants, I was just like, “I don’t ever want to come back here.”

But despite his apprehension, Mike noted HBO pushed for the country because they “had good tax incentives,” and the team visited Thailand shortly after.

Keep reading to fall in love with the show’s previous filming locations…

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