For season three of The White Lotus, creator Mike White has treated us to a star-studded cast. This time around, we've seen Aimee Lou Wood, Lisa Manobal, Walton Goggins, Carrie Coon, Arnas Fedaravičius, Leslie Bibb and Natasha Rothwell, who played Belinda in season one, all step into starring roles.
But there's one very famous actor who is heard, but not seen, in the second episode of season three, which airs tonight (24 February). Allow us to explain. Episode one introduced us to Timothy Ratliff, played by Jason Isaacs, a father who seems to have got into some hot water with potentially dodgy business. He is on holiday at the wellness resort in Thailand, where The White Lotus is filmed for season three, when he is contacted by journalists inquiring about his financial history. After this mysterious call, he leaves a voice note for his ex-business partner, Kenny.
In episode two, Kenny returns the call, telling Timothy: 'I don’t care about the f***ing story, because 20 agents just raided my f***ing office! F*** me. I’m done.' The voice on the other end of the phone is none other than Ke Huy Quan, the Oscar-winning actor and star of Everything, Everywhere All At Once. This comes as even more of a surprise considering that Quan doesn't appear in the episode’s end credits, or the IMDB page for the series.
Quan’s character Kenny also hints that there is a 'whistleblower' in his office, who sought to 'rat me out to the media' and the FBI. Kenny pins the blame on his friend, stating that he is 'wrapped up in some money laundering bribery situation, and I only made $10 million off of your stupid f***ing scheme!'
Fans of The White Lotus will know this isn't the first time that Mike White has recruited a famous face for a phone call. In Season 2, Laura Dern plays the estranged wife of Michael Imperioli’s character, Dominic, who can be heard on the other end of the phone.
We can expect this moment to cause plenty of friction for the Ratliff family, which includes Parker Poseyas Victoria Ratliff, the reluctant kaftan-wearing mother-of-three who is addicted to Lorazepam, Patrick Schwarzenegger as their sexually-charged older son Saxon, Sam Nivola as the youngest son Lochlan, Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper, their daughter who is writing a thesis on Buddhism. Watch this space to see how this plays out for the family, and the other guests.
Who is Ke Huy Quan?
Ke Huy Quan is an actor who was born in Vietnam. He immigrated to the United States after being forced to leave his country when the Army of the Republic of Vietnam was defeated during the Fall of Saigon. By the age of 12, he was a child actor and starred as Harrison Ford's sidekick Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Quan later described filming Temple of Doom as 'one of the happiest times of my life.'
For his first film role in over 30 years, as Waymond in 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, Quan won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Oscar for best supporting actor. He opened his Academy Award acceptance speech by stating, 'My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow, I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage.'