Jason Isaacs drew inspiration from a very particular reality star for his White Lotus season 3 accent.
After speculation arose about whether the actor was intentionally trying to model his accent after Southern Charm alum Thomas Ravenel — a comparison that even fellow Bravo star Cameran Eubanks called out — Isaacs set the record straight.
During a GMA3 appearance on Feb. 27, the actor, 61, said he’s hearing mixed reviews on his accent, but that he’s happy because people from North Carolina are liking it. He then revealed that he did, in fact, draw inspiration from the controversial Bravo star.
“It came out on the internet that Mike [White] had asked us to watch Southern Charm, a great reality show, and somebody in it — people from Southern Charm — went, ‘He’s clearly doing Thomas Ravenel.’ Like, that’s clearly who I am,” Isaacs said.
“And Thomas, I am doing you, mostly, but not for two vowels, which are completely English.”
Rebecca Miller/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Isaacs plays wealthy businessman Timothy Ratliff in season 3 of the HBO series. Timothy and his wife Victoria (Parker Posey) are on vacation in Thailand with their three kids Saxson (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola) to help Piper write her thesis on Buddhism. However, things get complicated for the patriarch when the FBI raids the office of his colleague, who was voiced by Ke Huy Quan.
Since the show’s Feb. 16 premiere, Isaacs’ accent has been a subject of speculation. Nivola told PEOPLE that White “told us to go watch Southern Charm” to prepare ahead of filming.
“In fact, Jason Isaacs, who played our dad, kind of modeled his whole accent and character off of [that cast],” Nivola, 21, added.
Fabio Lovino/HBO
Hook, though, didn’t get the same assignment since she “had it down” already, he said, as she’s from Alabama.
“I found out through you guys [that you were told to watch],” she told PEOPLE. “I was like, ‘He didn’t tell me to watch Southern Charm! I’m feeling left out.'”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
New episodes of The White Lotus season 3 air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
Read the full article here
