WHETHER HE’S EXPLORING THE TROPICAL SURROUNDINGS OF THAILAND OR GOING ON HIKES IN THE CANADIAN MOUNTAINS, NICHOLAS DUVERNAY IS ALWAYS UP FOR AN ADVENTURE. SINCE PLAYING ZION IN THE THIRD SEASON OF THE SMASH HIT THE WHITE LOTUS, THE AMERICAN ACTOR HAS BEEN ENJOYING THE NOTORIETY THAT THE MEGA-BELOVED HBO SHOW BRINGS – AS WELL AS ALL THE MEMES! NOW, DUVERNAY IS TAKING ON A NEW PROJECT, ACTING ALONGSIDE HIS BEST FRIEND (AND ROOMMATE) TYRIQ WITHERS IN THE UPCOMING BOOK ADAPTATION REMINDERS OF HIM. WHILE DRIVING UP TO THE HIKING TRAIL, HE FILLED US IN ON HIS WHITE LOTUS SHOOTING EXPERIENCE, THE SCENE HE’S MOST PROUD OF, AND CRYING ON CUE.

Left Jacket **Les Benjamins**, shirt **Office Generale**, necklace **Awe Inspired**
Right Full look **Dolce&Gabbana**

Hey Martin! How’s it going?

I’m good! Where are you off to?

I’m driving in Canada as we speak, I’m driving up to the mountains.

What brings you to Canada?

I’m shooting a film called Reminders of Him. It’s based on a book by Colleen Hoover. I’m out here for a few more weeks. I’ve never been here before.

What drew you to this story?

My best friend and roommate Tyriq Withers is playing one of the leads in the film. He actually lost his brother three years ago. We met two years ago and clicked right away – he’s like a brother to me. It was one of those things where he was already in the mix, and when I got asked to send a tape, we decided to do it together to show the chemistry off the bat. We’re best friends, so we obviously have great chemistry. The story is near and dear to his heart, as he has suffered a loss himself, and so it’s near and dear to my heart as well.

How long have you guys been living together?

For a year now, but we would sleep on each other’s couches for a year before that.

Left Full look **Dolce&Gabbana**
Right Suit **Les Benjamins**, shirt **Office Generale**, jewellery **Awe Inspired**

Would you say that it helps you to have someone so close in your daily life who’s on the same boat?

Absolutely. Especially when you’re away from home for weeks or months at a time, separated from the people you know and love. It’s something that I felt a lot while filming The White Lotus. And although I’m not filming for six months across the world this time around, you can still experience that same loneliness, so having a brother and someone who has your best interest at heart always helps.

I didn’t realise you were in Thailand for six months! Assumed it might have been less time because you come in towards the end of the story.

Yeah, you’d figure! But I was actually there for the whole shoot. So as you’d imagine, I had so much downtime. I actually got into Muay Thai training when I was there.

Left Jacket and tank top **Strike Oil**, earring Nicholas’ own
Right Suit **Les Benjamins**, shirt **Office Generale**, jewellery **Awe Inspired**

This is a very unique shooting experience, not only having so much free time but also staying at a gorgeous resort.

Yeah, it’s really like a vacation in a job!

Working on The White Lotus comes with a lot of secrecy. How good are you with keeping secrets? Did it feel like a burden for you to not be able to talk about it?

Okay, I’m great at keeping secrets but this experience has been very hard. Not only because you’re quiet for six months while filming, but also because I couldn’t say anything about my arc for the two months that the show was airing. You know, I open the show, but then, it takes a while for me to come back. So I was just overflowing at the brim.

You and your mom’s character are the very few people who left the resort unscathed – and with 5 million dollars in their pocket! What are you hoping that they do with it?

I want my mom’s character to open up her business, but I hope they go on vacation first. Paris, South Africa, Mexico – see the world and bask in their victory.

And maybe stay away from The White Lotus resorts. On a more serious note, was there a particular scene that you were the most stressed about?

It was my big negotiation scene with Natasha [Rothwell] and Jon [Gries], that was the climax of my character’s whole arc. That morning, I woke up and I was so sick, I had food poisoning. It was just one of these moments where I was like, do I ask for help or do I just power through? But I decided to hit up the medic and she gave me a handful of nausea meds to take throughout the day – it was a 12-hour shoot. So in between battling nausea and delivering one of the biggest scenes of my career, it was definitely a hard day, both mentally and physically. But I’m happy with how it came out, and I’m proud of myself that I was able to push through.

Left Tank top **Strike Oil**, pants **Intodusk**, earring Nicholas’ own
Right Full look **Zegna**

I was going to say, you can’t tell at all that you have been sick. Good job! Another big part of The White Lotus universe are the viral memes. Which ones have been your favourite?

Parker Posey’s character memes, especially the ones with Lorazepam. She’s just always sedated. [Laughs]

Left Full look **Zegna**
Right Suit **Les Benjamins**, shirt **Office Generale**, jewellery **Awe Inspired**

Lastly, I read that one of things that brought you towards acting was your ability to cry on cue. What was the most ridiculous situation you managed to get out of because of this gift?

Oh man, I try to not use it to manipulate people and get out of situations. [Laughs] I think I might have tried to shed a tear the first time I got pulled over, just to get out of a ticket. It didn’t work at all. [Laughs] I was 16 or 17 at the time, and the cop was like, “Dude, you’re not about to cry right now.” So I think that was the last time I tried to do that.

Well, it was worth a shot!

It was, you got to pull out all the stops. [Laughs]