The White Lotus star Carrie Coon has an extremely blunt take on the show’s impact on her career.
Coon, 45, was part of The Hollywood Reporter’s drama actress roundtable interview released on Thursday, along with Sarah Pidgeon, Claire Danes, Kerry Washington, Rhea Seehorn, and Chase Infiniti. The actress, who starred in HBO’s show’s Season 3, had one of the most talked-about performances—but the Gilded Age star revealed Thursday that she hasn’t seen the career opportunities that one might expect from her Emmy-nominated role on White Lotus.
“Here’s the thing: I still have to fight,” she said.
“I’m going to have to fight for big movies. What am I getting? I’m getting unfinanced indie scripts. That’s what I’m getting. And it’s probable that, if The Gilded Age were to go away, I would get another television job. For me, I haven’t leveled up in the way that you think of when you think of what you’re going through,” she told One Battle After Another star Chase Infiniti, or what you’re about to go through,” she added to Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette breakout star Sarah Pidgeon.
She continued, “As far as what The White Lotus does for careers, there were a lot of think pieces written about the show and the women. Maybe people started watching The Gilded Age,” but “I haven’t seen the material results” of her popular role on the Emmy-winning show. “I think I’m, like, top of the B-list now. Instead of the seventh person you come to, I’m, like, the fourth.”
Other stars of Coon’s season on the show include Parker Posey, Jason Isaacs, Leslie Bibb, Walton Goggins, Michelle Monaghan, and returning star Natasha Rothwell, as well as breakout stars Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola. Along with Bibb and Monaghan, Coon played reunited friends with a complicated dynamic, whose friendship is tested when their lives back home encroach on their luxury getaway.
Coon’s performance, particularly her monologue about aging and friendship in the Season 3 finale, hit home for many fans because of her visceral delivery. She told her fellow actresses that that was enough for her to feel satisfied with her career trajectory. “I’ll do it as long as they let me,” she said of whatever’s next. “When they’re done with me, I’ll do something else.”
“I’m still moving through the world with people vaguely kind of maybe thinking they know me from their high school,” she joked. “It’s great, and I don’t want to change that.”
