February 23, 2023
Evan Peters was almost going to be a part of the star-studded cast of HBO’s series, The White Lotus.
In a conversation with Deadline, the show’s executive producer David Bernad revealed that the American Horror Story actor, 36, was initially supposed to play the role of Ethan Spiller before it went to Will Sharpe for Season 2.
The cast also includes Jennifer Coolidge, Haley Lu Richardson, Leo Woodall, Michael Imperioli, Adam DiMarco, F. Murray Abraham, Jon Gries, and Tom Hollander.
“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,” said Bernad.
“We were really trying to figure how to cast that part so it didn’t feel like familiar casting.”
However, the producer ultimately found the perfect person for the role while auditioning Italian actors in Rome.
“I was jet-lagged googling at 4 a.m., and I came across Will Sharpe in Giri/Haji, which is a brilliant show in the U.K.,” he said of Sharpe, 36. “I’d never seen him before, and he was just incredibly talented. I looked at his other work and realised he was kind of a chameleon.”
In the second season of the HBO series, Ethan and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza) vacation with another married couple, Cameron and Daphne Babcock, played by Theo James and Meghann Fahy.
The White Lotus premiered back in July 2021.