Sam Nivola Responds To White Lotus Theories About Lochlan

Sam Nivola’s first-ever sex scene threw him into the deep end fast. In Episode 6 of The White Lotus Season 3, his character, Lochlan Ratliff, hooked up with party girl Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) while jerking off his brother, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), at the same time. “It was my first time ever kissing anyone on camera, let alone doing a sex scene, let alone doing a sex scene with two people, let alone doing a sex scene with someone who is playing your brother,” Nivola says.

What surprised the 21-year-old actor most about the process were the unexpectedly grueling demands of filming the threesome. “I didn’t realize how exhausting it is to have fake sex,” Nivola says. “I was sort of doing a one-armed plank, with my other hand jerking off Patrick. It was like doing weight lifting with your right arm while you do a plank, and it lasted for such a long time. It took a couple hours to film, for sure. At one point, I was on the verge of passing out.”

But Nivola knew the hard work was absolutely necessary. He describes the incestuous hookup scene as the “defining moment” for both Lochlan and Saxon’s storylines. And while there are a lot of different ways to read Lochlan’s motivations at that moment, Nivola thinks a lot of viewers may get it all wrong.

He’s definitely not attracted to his brother. He’s not a creep in that way.

“He’s definitely not attracted to his brother. He’s not a creep in that way,” the longtime New York City resident says. “I often get asked if Lochlan is gay. ‘What’s his sexuality?’ And I really don’t think that’s top of mind for him in that moment.”

What the youngest Ratliff is truly looking for is a way to bond with his sex-obsessed brother. “In his mind, it’s like, ‘OK, Piper’s the spiritual one, and Saxon is the sex guy. So I’ll connect with him sexually.’ It’s obviously a totally naive, misguided way of connecting with him, but that’s what he thinks.”

This anxiety over how to grow closer with his siblings is at the core of Lochlan’s character. His scenes often highlight a metaphorical tug-of-war between business bro Saxon pushing him to be more stereotypically masculine and religious-minded sister Piper encouraging him to embrace his feminine side. The internal conflict with gender has led to a popular fan-reading of Lochlan as possibly being trans or nonbinary.

He’s in the midst of a full-blown identity crisis.

“That’s a totally valid interpretation of what’s going on, but I don’t think that’s what’s going through his mind,” Nivola says of this theory. “He’s from this wealthy, right-wing family from the South, so he’s not really exposed to a lot of that stuff. I think he’s in the midst of a full-blown identity crisis, and whether that comes out in his sexuality or his gender, whether he is more masculine or feminine, these are all just different ways of showing he doesn’t know who he is.”

While so much of Lochlan’s identity is simply a refraction of his siblings, he does have one true passion of his own: watching devastating videos of tsunamis. It’s a facet of the character that Nivola often thought about to understand its deeper meaning. “It ties into Lochlan not knowing his place in the world,” Nivola says. “These videos show hundreds of thousands of people dying in one day. How do you wrap your head around that? It makes you think, ‘What is life? What’s the f*cking point of it all if you can just go away in one second?’ It’s this big sign of both Lochlan’s moral dilemmas, and also his family’s. Because if their money just evaporates, is life still worth living? What do we value?”

With The White Lotus nearing its Season 3 finale (which airs April 6), he’s looking forward to his next new role in a genre entirely different from the dramatic ensemble projects he’s become known for. Below, he also shares his travel essential, childhood crush, and oh-so-relatable manifestation for the rest of 2025.

Elite Daily: What’s one thing you need whenever you travel?

Sam Nivola: My Xbox. Playing video games is a great way to stay in touch with my friends back home when I’m away. And you can also zone out and do something sort of mindless after a long day of work.

ED: What treatment would you get if you were staying at a spa resort?

SN: Maybe a meditation session. I’m a very stressed person, and I get very anxious. And also a massage. I get really tense in my neck and shoulders.

ED: What’s your go-to order at a Thai restaurant?

SN: Mango sticky rice and papaya salad.

ED: Is there a genre you haven’t really done yet that you’d love to try out?

SN: It was comedy. The White Lotus is very funny, but to me, it’s more dramatic than comedy. There isn’t really room for improv. But I’ve been shooting this out-and-out comedy directed by Bobby Farrelly in North Carolina for the past few weeks: [Driver’s Ed, co-starring Kumail Nanjiani and Molly Shannon]. This is definitely something I’ve never done before, where there’s more of a freedom to go off and do your own thing.

ED: What TV show are you obsessed with right now?

SN: I started watching The Leopard on Netflix, which is great. Benedetta Porcaroli is amazing. My girlfriend [Iris Apatow] is obsessed with Severance at the moment. I watched the first season, which I loved, but I haven’t gotten around to the second one yet. Apparently the finale was f*cking insane.

ED: What’s the movie that you’ve re-watched the most in your life?

SN: Swingers. It’s my favorite movie of all time. I watch that probably once a month.

ED: Who’s an actor that you dream of working with one day?

SN: Juliette Binoche. She’s my total idol. I’ve had a crush on her since I was 5 years old. It would be so cool to be in something with her, but I’d maybe need to work on my French a little bit.

ED: What are you manifesting this year?

SN: Some rest. I’ve been working a lot. I never want to turn down work, but I’ve also been burning the candle at both ends recently, and I’m really tired. I’m paying rent on an apartment in New York that I am only in three months out of the year. I want to enjoy a normal life for a little bit.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.