“Everyone is treated the same on The White Lotus. 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, not to quote The Bachelor. It’s a system we developed in the first season because there was no money to make the show,” producer David Bernad told The Hollywood Reporter as the third-season finale aired.
Casting director Meredith Tucker added, “It makes it so much easier. 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.” (“For scale” means the SAG/AFTRA minimum pay rate.)
Fabio Lovino/HBO
So, what does that work out to? Well, Jason Isaacs finally confirmed the number: $40,000 per episode, or roughly $320,000 for a season. Which is not, under any circumstances, a pittance, especially when the job is staying in a swanky resort and acting, not coal-mining. But after taxes and deductions (percentages to agents, lawyers, managers, publicists, all the rest), it’s not what you’d expect for a lead of one of the buzziest shows of the year. Like, it’s way less than what the Succession cast got.
HBO
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