Evan Peters Almost Played Fan-Favorite ‘White Lotus’ Season 2 Character

Evan Peters almost starred in The White Lotus Season 2 as Aubrey Plaza’s on-screen husband. Instead, the role went to Will Sharpe, who gave a wonderful breakout performance as the workaholic Ethan Spiller. Peters most recently played serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Netflix’s hit Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story series.

“That part was the last part we cast in the season, and originally it was supposed to be Evan Peters, but for whatever reason – scheduling or timing – it didn’t work out,” executive producer David Bernad told Deadline. Sharpe’s name came up while the producers were casting Italian actors in Rome. Bernad was searching for actors online and saw Sharpe.

“We were really trying to figure how to cast that part so it didn’t feel like familiar casting,” Bernad explained. “We were in Rome auditioning Italian actors, and I was jetlagged Googling at 4 am and I came across Will Sharpe in Giri/Haji, which is a brilliant show in the UK. I’d never seen him before and he was just incredibly talented. I looked at his other work and realized he was kind of a chameleon.”

While Sharpe is not as familiar to American audiences as Peters, he still has an extensive background in television. Before The White Lotus, Sharpe was best known for writing, directing, and starring in the 2016-2018 dark comedy Flowers. He also starred in Giri/Haji, a BBC series available on Netflix in the U.S. He made his feature directing debut with The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the eccentric artist.

The White Lotus Season 2 was filmed in Sicily. Plaza’s Harper and Sharpe’s Ethan traveled to the titular resort with Ethan’s friend Cameron Sullivan (Theo James) and Cameron’s wife Daphne (Meghan Fahy). HBO quickly renewed the series for a third season, which is rumored to be set somewhere in Asia. “We’ve tried to work in Asia a lot and hopefully season three will be our chance to make something happen there,” Bernad said.

In a recent interview with Vulture, Jackass star Johnny Knoxville may have let it slip that Season 3 will be set in Tokyo. Although Knoxville has not starred in the series yet, he is close friends with creator Mike White. “He and I had been in Tokyo together,” Knoxville said. “I think that’s where the next… oh, I’m not giving anything away.”

The White Lotus Season 1 nearly swept the Limited or Anthology Series categories at the Emmys last year, winning Outstanding Series, Supporting Actor for Murray Bartlett, and Supporting Actress for Jennifer Coolidge. White won Emmys for writing and directing. Season 2 won Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film and Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (Coolidge) at the Golden Globes last month.