Sydney Sweeney in The White Lotus

Mike White wrote and directed the first season of The White Lotus for HBO as a six-episode satire set at a luxury resort in Hawaii. It was filmed in late 2020 at a hotel on Maui that the production had to itself during the pandemic, and it aired in the summer of 2021.

Sweeney plays Olivia Mossbacher, a college student on holiday with her wealthy parents (Connie Britton and Steve Zahn), her younger brother, and her friend Paula (Brittany O'Grady). Olivia spends most of the week by the pool behind a stack of serious books, and gives flat, withering judgements on everyone who walks past. The comedy of the part is in how little she moves her face.

The performance showed a dry, controlled side that Cassie in Euphoria never called for. It brought her second Emmy nomination of 2022, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

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