Is HBO Ripping Off 'The White Lotus' Cast?

In a new interview, HBO's The White Lotus star, Jason Isaacs confirmed the surprisingly low pay the Season 3 cast of the hit streaming series were paid.

When asked by Vulture if all the main stars were indeed only paid $40,000 per episode, Isaacs confirmed the figure while also saying that their income is much lower than other similarly successful shows. In total, the main stars were all paid $320,000.

That may be a lot of money for the rest of us, but for one of HBO's biggest shows that averaged 16 million viewers this past season, it's really not. 

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EQUAL PAY FOR ALL

"I didn’t know that was public knowledge. That’s absolutely true," Isaacs told the media outlet. "Generally, actors don’t talk about pay in public because it’s ridiculously disproportionate to what we do - putting on makeup and funny voices - and just upsets the public. But compared to what people normally get paid for big television shows, that’s a very low price."

In comparison, when NBC's Friends debuted in 1994, the main cast members were paid $22,500 per episode before that skyrocketed to $1 million in the last season. 

Still, $40 grand is $40 grand, and you won't find too many people feeling sorry for the actors and actresses, despite the fact that, comparatively speaking, their salaries should be higher, something Isaacs alludes to later in the interview.

HAPPY TO BE HERE OR JUST NEEDS A PAYCHECK?

"Do I mind that I wasn’t paid more than other people? I never work for money," said Isaacs, who played Timothy Ratliffe in the show. "I’ve done all right. People will think I have huge stockpiles of money but, sadly, what I’ve done rather immaturely is expand my outgoings to match my incomings and pretty much spent everything I’ve earned over the years."

Upon reading that comment, some on social media took that as Isaacs, who also portrays the British officer villain in Mel Gibson's The Patriot, perhaps not being too financially sound with his previous earnings and would be happy with just getting a paycheck, even if that means he's getting paid the same as the younger, newer actors who have nowhere near the experience he does.

The White Lotus's fixed pay structure has been in place since the series debuted in 2021. "They get paid the same, and we do alphabetical billing, so you’re getting people who want to do the project for the right reasons, not to quote," show producer David Bernad told The Hollywood Reporter in April.  "It's not negotiable," he continued. 

"The fact is, we would have paid to be in it. We probably would have given a body part," Jason Isaacs told Vulture in an almost too over-the-top way of telling showrunners that he really wants his character to be brought back in Season 4.

And of course, to get that paycheck, no matter how small or unfair it may be.

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