7 Actors Who Auditioned For The White Lotus But Weren't Cast

It’s pretty well-known that a part on The White Lotus is one of the most coveted roles in Hollywood. “Everyone auditions for The White Lotus,” Season 3 star Carrie Coon stated in a 2025 oral history. But with so many beloved actors all vying for a slot, there’s simply not enough room at the resort for more than a lucky few.

While it’s likely a ton of familiar stars have submitted themselves for a White Lotus vacay, only a handful have actually come forward to reveal they were passed over by the HBO production. The stories typically aren’t the standard cut-and-dry casting rejections either. In many cases, an actor who was originally a top choice for a role had to be replaced for scheduling reasons. Or a star may have already been cast and even filmed scenes with the rest of the ensemble... only to be cut and swapped out during the production process.

There’s also one now-beloved White Lotus star who lost out on her initial audition, but came back to book a scene-stealing role in a later season. Here are all of the most interesting behind-the-scenes casting stories.

1. Woody Harrelson

It sounds like Woody Harrelson has been in discussion for a role on The White Lotus for a while. Not only was he hanging around the Season 2 set, but he was also the early pick to play Rick in Season 3. The part ultimately went to Walton Goggins when Harrelson was told he couldn’t negotiate his salary, since all actors on The White Lotus are paid the same. Harrelson was also considered for Sam Rockwell’s Season 3 role as Frank, but that fell through due to scheduling.

2. Lily Allen

Singer Lily Allen nearly followed in her Game of Thrones star brother Alfie’s footsteps onto HBO prestige, but her White Lotus plans didn’t come to fruition. In an April 2025 episode of her podcast, Allen revealed she overcame her anxiety around self-tape auditions to submit for the show, but didn’t hear back.

“I haven’t auditioned for anything really,” Allen said. “I did do a self-tape for The White Lotus and obviously did not get it.”

The Smile singer did not reveal which part she went out for, but judging from the revelation’s timing, it’s likely she auditioned for Season 3.

3. Jessica Capshaw

Grey’s Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw knows a thing or two about being part of a prestigious ensemble cast, but her attempt to check into The White Lotus didn’t work out. She revealed on her Call It What It Is podcast that she auditioned to play the role of Kate in Season 3, which wound up going to Leslie Bibb instead of her.

“We all have a very different take on it. So watching Leslie's, I was like, 'Oh my God.' And I was so in, and I thought she was fantastic,” Capshaw said.

Though her first try didn’t go her way, Capshaw is determined to keep putting her name in the mix for future seasons. “I'll just keep auditioning. That's what I did for Grey's. I just kept auditioning, it took me three times," Capshaw said. "I'm hoping it'll just take two for Mike White and The White Lotus."

4. Evan Peters

White Lotus producer David Bernad revealed that Evan Peters was the first choice to play Ethan in Season 2. However, the part went to Will Sharpe when it became impossible for Peters to take the time to film the show.

"That part was the last part we cast in the season, and originally it was supposed to be Evan Peters, but for whatever reason — scheduling or timing — it didn't work out," Bernad told Deadline in 2023.

5. Francesca Corney

Season 3 had some of the show’s most unique casting restructurings. Francesca Corney was originally cast as Greg’s partygirl girlfriend Chloe, but was later replaced by Charlotte Le Bon when producers decided they wanted the character to appear slightly older.

However, this didn’t happen until after Corney had already flown to Thailand and filmed scenes with the cast, as she revealed in an Instagram photo dump of her time on set.

6. Miloš Biković

Similar to Corney, Serbian actor Miloš Biković was also announced as a Season 3 star, only to later have his part given to someone else. Biković implied in a statement that his firing was due to his views on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine: “My participation is not possible due to reasons beyond the realm of art and I will not bow to any narrative that seeks to compromise my integrity.”

The part of the Russian charmer Aleksei ended up going to Julian Kostov instead.

7. Meghann Fahy

The other actors on this list can look to Meghann Fahy’s resolve as inspiration. Before she starred as Daphne in Season 2 of The White Lotus, she actually tried out to play Rachel in the show’s first season, but lost the part to Alexandra Daddario.

"She was f*cking amazing, and I'm sure hundreds of other people auditioned for that too," Fahy said in a 2022 Entertainment Weekly interview.