Michelle Monaghan's 'The White Lotus' shoot was soundtracked by Frank Ocean

Guitar

Acclaimed actress Michelle Monaghan, who plays famous-actress-on-holiday Jaclyn in 'The White Lotus' season three, says the music of Frank Ocean may contain clues for the plot. Someone stick 'Blonde' on!

Transcript

00:00Old friends.

00:01Long time friends, not old.

00:04What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand.

00:07Oh, what does that mean?

00:08It means we're not dead yet.

00:10Amen, amen.

00:11Hi, I'm Alex from NME, and today I'm joined by a very exciting guest

00:15from the new season of The White Lotus.

00:17It's Michelle Monaghan. How are you doing?

00:18Hey, I'm well. How are you?

00:20Really good, thanks.

00:21Good.

00:22Okay, first question.

00:23Out of your friends and family,

00:25who was the most excited when you told them you were going to be in The White Lotus?

00:29You know what? I think my husband was most excited.

00:32We've watched the previous seasons together,

00:35and he watched me go through the process, of course,

00:38of auditioning and getting the job,

00:41and so we were really excited together,

00:44and it was an opportunity for him and my children to also come visit me in Thailand,

00:49so we were celebrating for many reasons.

00:51Yeah, that's not a bad reason, is it?

00:53Not a bad reason.

00:54Are you allowed to let your husband and family read the script?

00:58No, he didn't—

00:59No, no one's—

01:00In fact, he doesn't want to know anything.

01:02He doesn't know anything about it.

01:03Oh, really?

01:04Yeah, yeah, yeah. He doesn't know anything about the show,

01:05and in fact, he came to visit me and spent all this time in Thailand,

01:09and he was adamant that everybody be quiet about what was going on.

01:13He never came and watched.

01:14Just walking past the set going like this.

01:15Yeah, never came and watched the set.

01:16He wanted to be surprised, so.

01:18He knows who my character is,

01:20but he doesn't know the storyline at all.

01:22So we've mentioned your character Jacqueline.

01:24Yes.

01:25She's on holiday with old-time friends.

01:26Yeah.

01:27She's a well-known actress,

01:28trying and failing not to be recognized while on holiday.

01:32Yes.

01:33Did you read that and think,

01:34oh, well, I can do that?

01:35Yeah.

01:36It's kind of true.

01:37It's kind of true.

01:39You know, I think at this time—

01:43I've been working for 25 years,

01:44I've been in the industry for a long time.

01:46I pretty much—

01:47I will say that I'm always genuinely surprised

01:50when people do recognize me

01:51because I feel like I fly pretty much under the radar

01:54for a lot of reasons.

01:56But I'm also not naive enough

01:58not to think that people are going to say hello,

02:01you know, and say nice to meet you

02:03or something like that, so.

02:05And it's always really charming, you know.

02:07It means a lot to me.

02:08I'm really proud of my career,

02:09and people are really nice.

02:12There is a scene in episode one

02:14where you're recognized by the pool.

02:15Yes.

02:16Where does that rank on the weirdest places

02:18you've been recognized?

02:19On the ick?

02:20On the ick?

02:21Yeah, yeah, on the ick.

02:22I've just learned about the ick.

02:23I would say being recognized at the pool

02:25is a 10 on the ick.

02:27Oh, really?

02:28Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:29I thought maybe sort of in the mid-range.

02:32Yeah, no, I'd say it's like a 10 on the ick.

02:35I always feel a little bit vulnerable

02:37because I'm probably with my family,

02:40and, you know, I'm kind of pretty private

02:43and probably not fully clothed,

02:46so that's why it ranks a little higher up.

02:49Because I read an interview once,

02:51I think it was with Frank Ocean,

02:53and he was recognized.

02:54What?

02:55You know the cubicles you go into

02:57in a shopping center to try on the clothes?

02:59Yes.

03:00Someone reached around and was like,

03:01hello, Frank, while he was trying to get changed.

03:03Yes.

03:04That's another level, isn't it?

03:05Yeah, that's an extra deep level.

03:08Okay, so maybe I'll take it back to a seven, right?

03:11Because I've got to reserve some room

03:13for some serious ick.

03:14For Frank Ocean.

03:15But I can't believe you just said Frank Ocean

03:17because Frank Ocean was my playlist on repeat.

03:19Oh, really?

03:20For this show?

03:21For this show.

03:22For like six months.

03:23I'm a huge Frank Ocean fan.

03:24Yeah.

03:25And I could not...

03:26Are you talking Blonde or Channel Orange?

03:27All of it.

03:28Oh, okay.

03:29All of it, all of it, all of it.

03:30Yeah, it was just on repeat, so...

03:32That's interesting.

03:33I'm going to go through all the songs now

03:34and try and work out plot details.

03:35Yeah, no, no, no.

03:36Yeah, it was just, it was just,

03:38it was just really resonating with me.

03:40I don't know if it was the character thing

03:42or if it was just like me in this,

03:44you know, foreign place and...

03:46Have you managed to see him live?

03:48No, but I would love to.

03:49It's quite difficult.

03:50It's difficult.

03:51You kind of don't know where he's going to pop up.

03:53And, you know, I love that about him.

03:55He's a bit of an enigma.

03:57And I think that's great.

03:58He's a very talented artist.

04:00We're still the same people we were in the 10th grade.

04:02You're always disappointing.

04:03And you're always fake.

04:05And you're vain and selfish.

04:07I did see on your TikTok, actually,

04:08that you got to take your daughter to the Eras tour.

04:11I did.

04:12I did.

04:13How was that?

04:14That was so special.

04:15It was so special.

04:17And I'm going to tell you, quite honestly,

04:19as much as I love the concert,

04:20I was such a huge fan of the concert.

04:22For me, personally, the buildup of the concert

04:25and the way that it bonded my daughter and I

04:29in the months prior,

04:30like, we were making bracelets together.

04:32We were listening to all the songs together.

04:35She was gathering the playlists from, like,

04:38the previous, you know,

04:39guessing what the surprise songs were going to be.

04:41Like, all of that was so special.

04:44It was like the summer of Taylor.

04:46And then, you know, the cherry on top

04:49going to that concert

04:50and just getting to watch her face take it in.

04:53You know, it was her first big concert ever.

04:55And, you know, I won't ever forget her face.

04:58Yeah.

04:59What were your seats like?

05:00Because we did an interview with Hugh Grant.

05:02Yeah.

05:03And he was talking about slamming tequila shots

05:04with Travis Kelce.

05:05I'm imagining your face wasn't like that.

05:06Oh, no, no, no.

05:07It wasn't.

05:08We were up high against, like, front row up high.

05:12We didn't have anyone in front of us.

05:15So we were just up high.

05:17We weren't close to the stage at all.

05:19But those were the tickets that were available.

05:21And we had so much fun standing in line with people,

05:25like, just getting merch.

05:26You know, we stood in line for an hour, you know,

05:28just visiting with people and hearing their stories

05:30and where they came from.

05:31I mean, it's just a real testament to the community

05:35that she brings together.

05:36You know, it's really, really extraordinary.

05:39I'm going to ask this to everyone.

05:40Yeah.

05:41Do you have a real-life Holiday from Hell story

05:43that could be turned into a future season

05:45of The White Ladies?

05:46You know what?

05:47I don't think I do.

05:48And I've been asked this now a couple of times,

05:50and I'm going to really think hard on it.

05:51I'm not going to make up a bullshit lie.

05:53It's a good thing that you don't.

05:54It's a good thing.

05:55I really haven't.

05:56You know, when you think of, like, you know,

06:00anything on my own I can handle, I'm pretty patient.

06:04I think the only time that I remember, you know,

06:08having a difficult time is that I had a really,

06:10really sick child, and then our flight got canceled,

06:13and then we just got, you know, got stuck.

06:16No murder.

06:17No, no.

06:18No murder.

06:19No bodies found anywhere.

06:20No.

06:21And I'm going to think on that,

06:22because there is a term, and it's an odd term,

06:25and I can't think of it right now,

06:27so it's a little anticlimactic,

06:28but it often happens in hotels, right,

06:31where somebody passes away in a hotel,

06:33and they have a specific term that they call that.

06:36And, you know, the owner of one of our hotels

06:38that we were in going,

06:39oh, no, no, no, that's quite common.

06:40It's so common that we call it this.

06:42And I was like, hmm.

06:43I'm so glad that it's, I never experienced that.

06:47So am I, otherwise we wouldn't be doing this.

06:49Yeah, exactly.

06:50Final question, then.

06:52There are very few characters,

06:54and I don't want to spoil anything this season,

06:56that get to come back for another season.

06:58Yes.

06:59What are you going to say to Mike White to be like,

07:02I need to be in season four?

07:04Oh, I think he knows I would walk

07:08to the edges of the earth with him again

07:11any time on anything.

07:13Yeah, I mean, if he ever wanted to have me back

07:15for another season, I would in a heartbeat.

07:17Is there a holiday destination you would suggest?

07:19Oh, gosh.

07:21No, because he chooses the best places.

07:24He chooses the best places.

07:26I have an idea of, like, maybe where season four might be,

07:30and I'm just like, ooh, God, that sounds good.

07:33Thanks so much for chatting to us.

07:35Yeah, thank you.

07:38Someone once said,

07:41the secret to life

07:44is knowing when to stop.

07:48No bigger go home, right?

07:50Mm-hmm.

07:51In a goddamn body bag.

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