ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
After Season 1 of "The White Lotus," Natasha Rothwell typed a note into her phone - work with Mike White again. Mike White is the creator of "White Lotus." And so when he called her up and asked her to come back for Season 3, she did not hesitate. She told Wild Card host Rachel Martin about a scene she suggested this season where her character encounters a Black couple at the resort and why showing that matters.
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NATASHA ROTHWELL: I get excited when I see Black people traveling, especially luxury travel...
RACHEL MARTIN: Yeah.
MARTIN: ...Because I think it's something that is not showed a lot on television. And I think so much of what I've aspired to be and do is a consequence of representation.
SCHMITZ: Rothwell also talked about the value of alone time and how she's reframed what a spiritual practice can look like. Here's Rachel.
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MARTIN: OK. One, two or three.
ROTHWELL: One.
MARTIN: One. At what point in your life did you spend the most time alone?
ROTHWELL: Oh, wow. The most time alone. There's not, like, one peak time, but I think I learned that about myself in my teens.
MARTIN: Yeah.
ROTHWELL: I would go up to my room, close the door and just be in my own world. And it - I think protecting that alone time is something I learned, like, later on 'cause I was a pretty severe people-pleaser. And being around other people and making them happy - and, like, I would give until there was nothing left. And that was sort of, you know, valued - right? - martyrdom, you know? Like, just - and it was kind of praised as, like - in my family - just, like, putting others before you. And so I think I noticed the depletion, and in those moments of aloneness, I - it was just - it took me a while to click in, but I always, from that teen point forward, realized I need to find time to do this solo to process and, like, come back to myself.
MARTIN: Yeah.
ROTHWELL: Yeah. I betrayed that solitude for a long time because of people pleasing.
MARTIN: Yeah. It's an important thing to realize about yourself. It's the same...
ROTHWELL: Yeah.
MARTIN: ...For me. I mean, in group housing situations I was always, like, I will pay extra for my own room (laughter).
ROTHWELL: Yes, yes, yes. Always. I'll pay extra. It's just like - what was that? I saw something on social media that was just like, nothing is more foreign than when Ariel says in "The Little Mermaid," I want to be where the people are.
MARTIN: (Laughter).
ROTHWELL: I do - I don't want to be where the people are. I just don't. Ariel can go. I'm good, I'm good.
MARTIN: OK. One, two or three. What are you feeling?
ROTHWELL: Let's start with two.
MARTIN: Two. I have never asked this question. Do you take life as it comes, or do you plan for all outcomes?
ROTHWELL: Yeah. I - the best examples are just I'm a chronic overpacker, and it's because I'm preparing for all eventualities.
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ROTHWELL: And, well, what if this happens? And this could happen. And, like, what if this happens? Like, I need to make sure that we're covered, and...
MARTIN: Give me an example. It's not just clothes. It's not like, oh, I'm going to need this wedge heel, and I also need this, like...
ROTHWELL: Yeah. It's just, like...
MARTIN: ...Ballet slipper.
ROTHWELL: I'm in my 40s, so it's just like, well, if I have some gastrointestinal issues, I need to make sure I'm prepared for all of that. I got the Tums. I got the Imodium. Like, what do I need (laughter)?
MARTIN: 'Cause they're definitely not going to have drugstores where you're going.
ROTHWELL: Yeah, exactly. Like, I think it's so crazy that, like, when I was younger - like, my freaking proof - I'm just remembering, like, field trips. They would call me, like, the mom because in my little fanny pack I'd have everything, you know, like...
MARTIN: Snacks.
ROTHWELL: Snacks. It was just, like, just in case, just in case. But yeah, I'm a planner. And I like to - I don't like to be beholden to those plans, like, when we're talking about, like, just general life plans 'cause life has gone so many directions. So I have, you know, flexibility when it comes to planning. But it's nice for me to have...
MARTIN: That doesn't throw you? Like, if you have a plan and, all of a sudden, if something happens, it torpedoes it. You got to pivot. You're pretty good at that part?
ROTHWELL: I'm pretty good at pivoting, but it will throw me (laughter).
MARTIN: Yeah. Yeah.
ROTHWELL: Do you know what I mean?
MARTIN: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally.
ROTHWELL: Like, improv is in my DNA. It's what I did...
MARTIN: Yeah. Right.
ROTHWELL: ...For a living for a long time, so, like...
MARTIN: Yeah.
ROTHWELL: ...Being able to pivot in a moment's notice and, you know, with a bit of elegance...
MARTIN: Yes, and your life. Yeah.
ROTHWELL: Yes. I do that all the time, but not without some internal frustration. Yeah.
MARTIN: OK, three more cards. One, two or three.
ROTHWELL: Three.
MARTIN: How have your feelings about God changed over time?
ROTHWELL: Whoa. He's gotten so much bigger. I think that...
MARTIN: He exists for you, or it exists for you.
ROTHWELL: It exists for me. I think - again, having grown up in the church, I think I've pivoted from religion to a spiritual practice. For me, it's about a personal relationship with something bigger than myself. And I feel like my art is an expression of that. And I think when I was much younger, you know, I was very devout. I was trying to do it right.
MARTIN: Were you?
ROTHWELL: Yeah. And then I think, you know, my radicalization happened when I found theater, you know, honestly. It was just a playground where I can do and be and explore all the things that may not have been permitted or sanctioned, you know? And that's been such, like, a - yeah - an expansive process. I do think that those are the relics of my upbringing that influence how I commune with myself. Because I do think, like, you know, baby, bathwater, you don't want to throw the whole thing out. And so for me, the principles and qualities of my upbringing in the church that resonate with me still are a part of my own communion with God and with, you know, spirit, the universe, whatever you want to call it. In college, I remember having this moment where I was like, I don't want to believe in anything just because my parents did. I want to believe in it for myself. So let's get digging, you know? And so, while there's some things that fell away, there's some things that remain true, you know?
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MARTIN: Natasha Rothwell. She is now in Season 3 of "White Lotus," which you can see on HBO. I'm so happy for all your success, lady...
ROTHWELL: Thank you.
MARTIN: ...And it was just such a pleasure to get to do this with you. Thank you.
ROTHWELL: Thank you. Likewise.
SCHMITZ: And you can hear the full conversation on the Wild Card podcast. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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