The White Lotus star Steve Zahn describes his surprise upon realizing he didn’t have to strip down for his full-frontal scene. The HBO series debuted earlier this summer to widespread critical acclaim. Created by Mike White, the show follows an assorted group of wealthy individuals vacationing at the titular Hawaiian resort. Along the way, the satirical freshman drama ruthlessly dissects the toxic excesses of cultural privilege and entitlement. Lauded by viewers, the series was recently renewed for a second season, which will center on a new faction of affluent guests at a separate White Lotus estate.
In The White Lotus, Zahn plays Mark Mossbacher, a weary father to two young adults and husband to tech CFO Nicole (Connie Britton). Throughout the show, Mark struggles with his identity and strives to establish a stronger relationship with his family. During this time, he grapples with a testicular cancer scare. In one scene, Mark asks his wife to check his testicles for any abnormalities. While his physician eventually assuages his fears with a clean biopsy scan, Mark continues to fret about the legacy he will leave behind upon his eventual passing.
During an interview with TheWrap, Zahn revealed that he initially expected to perform a full-frontal scene after reading the script. However, he quickly learned that nudity protocols have evolved over the years:
“I remember when I got the script asking Mike if I was going to have to do full frontal. And he’s like, ‘No, it’s going to be a prosthetic.’ I did have to approve the prosthetic that they used. He showed it to me first. And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’ll do’…I come from the old school where we were actually naked when we were naked. I mean, my ass is in so many movies and shows it’s not even funny.”
![Steve Zahn Was Surprised He Didn’t Need To Be Fully Nude For White Lotus](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/the-white-lotus-armond-mossbachers.jpg)
While the scene featuring Mark and Nicole surprised viewers with its unexpectedly revealing full-frontal imagery, it was far from the only graphic interaction on the show. In episode 4, a sex scene takes place between hotel manager Armond (Murray Bartlett) and his employee Dillon (Lukas Gage). Two other characters, guest Shane Patton (Jake Lacy) and spa manager Belinda (Nathasha Rothwell), inadvertently stumble upon the illicit event. After the episode’s release, Bartlett praised showrunner White for his ability to effectively lead these vulnerable moments, noting that the director established a safe space for the actors to experiment during these scenes.
As Zahn himself notes, industry mores have certainly evolved when it comes to handling on-screen nudity. Over the years, actors and production crew have successfully lobbied for greater safety measures to avoid traumatizing working conditions. As a result, body-doubles, prosthetics, and intimacy coordinators have slowly become the norm rather than the outlier. Considering the extensive success of The White Lotus, it is certainly affirming to know that the production treated its actors with respect and consideration.