ICYMI, Sam Rockwell guest starred on last week's White Lotus episode, “Full-Moon Party,” as Frank, Rick's eccentric old friend. In a scene-stealing performance, Sam recited a monologue so wild, it's unlike anything in television history. Needless to say, he made an impression. But was he just another White Lotus nepo hire? According to his longtime partner, Leslie Bibb, absolutely not!
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Leslie insisted that she did not help Sam book his White Lotus part, despite starring in season 3 herself as Kate, the Trump-supporting third of the trio of girlfriends reconnecting in Thailand. “They came to me and they were like, ‘We're going to offer this to Sam,’” Bibb recalled. “But I was like, ‘Sam is wild as a buck. Listen, I don't know what he's going to do. He's doing a movie in South Africa, he likes time to prep.’”
After making producers promise they wouldn't hold it against her if Sam said no, Leslie gave them the green light. “I was like, ‘That jet plane's going to fly, I can't ground him,’” she said. It's hard to imagine anyone turning down that monologue, or a week in Thailand, not to mention a free flight to visit your partner. Another selling point: playing opposite Walton Goggins, who plays Rick and just so happens to be one of Sam's close friends. “It was really sweet—I think Walton really, because they're very good friends, wanted to have that experience with him,” Leslie explained.
So, no, Sam wasn't just given a role because Leslie was starring in the season. (I would assume it had more to do with his stellar resumé and Oscar, but what do I know?) But, the couple do sometimes help each other out. In fact, during an appearance on CBS Mornings, Leslie revealed that Sam actually helped record her audition for The White Lotus.
“I was in Savannah shooting a Clint Eastwood movie,” Leslie said. “I got the audition on a Monday, and they're like, ‘You need to have this in by Friday.’ I was like, ‘It's The White Lotus. I'm doing a Clint... how do I multitask?’” Luckily, the film happened to co-star Chris Messina, another one of her and Sam's friends. And, when Sam came into town, Leslie recruited them both to help her tape. “[Sam] read the scene with me and then Chris Messina taped the audition on his iPhone and that's what I sent in,” she recalled, adding, “I feel like I had the best audition tape just because I had Sammy and Chris.”
Olivia Truffaut-Wong is an editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers beauty, entertainment, and lifestyle. She loves finding and testing the best skincare products to recommend, like the best tinted sunscreens, and is always researching the best cat accessories for her fur baby. She has over 10 years of experience as an entertainment and culture writer and editor, and her work has been featured in The Cut, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, Polygon, Bustle, and more.
