‘White Lotus’ Breakout Blames Old Actors With Plastic Surgery for Stealing Roles From Young Stars

The White Lotus star Sam Nivola boldly suggested that old Hollywood stars with plastic surgery are stealing roles from hopeful young actors.

During an interview with Variety published on Aug. 7, the actor behind Lochlan Ratliff in Season 3 of HBO‘s mystery-comedy-drama series, opened up about the state of acting. He bluntly pointed out that up-and-coming talent is having a difficult time breakout out in an industry riddled with cosmetic procedures allowing people to look decades younger.

“The old movie stars are getting plastic surgery, and they’re looking younger and they’re staying young,” Nivola, 21, told the publication. “You have these really old people playing young roles. And it’s not giving any space for the young’uns to move in and make a name for themselves.”

He added, “With all due respect to those people, one day they won’t be here anymore, literally. And they will have to create new stars.”

Still, Nivola conceded that Timothée Chalamet, 29, may be an exception to the rule. (Although, he’s not exactly up there in age yet.)

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“I think Timothée Chalamet is one of the best actors alive, and he’s a total star,” he said. “He’s one of a very few examples I could come up with. But it’s a different kind of movie star; he’s not huge and jacked. He looks a little more like me.”

Nivola’s White Lotus co-star Aimee Lou Wood, 31, who played Chelsea in Season 3, echoed his sentiments about cosmetic procedures in acting.

“I’m very anti-Botox,” she said during an appearance on the Run-Through With Vogue podcast in April. “People can do whatever the hell they want, but for myself — because, you know, a lot of my career relies on these facial expressions — I can’t start freezing my face. It needs to move.”

The White Lotus, streaming on HBO Max