Conan O’Brien Proposed Playing a Sex Worker in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3

Conan O’Brien was hoping to get in on the action in season three of The White Lotus.

The comedian revealed on a recent episode of his Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast that he actually pitched himself to show creator Mike White after a run-in in Bangkok, Thailand, over a year ago.

“Before you guys started shooting The White Lotus, I ran into none other than Mike White in a restaurant,” O’Brien told season three star Walter Goggins. “We start chatting because we’ve met each other once or twice before and he’s a very funny, cool guy. I said, ‘Hey, so the next season of The White Lotus, you’re going down to Thailand, right?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ And I said, ‘I was there. I had a great time. I made a lot of friends.’”

O’Brien then proceeded with his pitch: “I said, ‘If there’s a part for me, I’m available.’” However, White had a specific idea in mind.

“He looked at me and he said, ‘You know, there’s a lot of sex work there,’” O’Brien recalled of their conversation. “And I said, ‘I could do that.’ … I could play a part where I’m a male gigolo or something.”

While Goggins and co-hosts Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley erupted in laughter at the thought, the Fallout actor also had some encouraging words for the comedian: “Yes, you could do that. I believe that you could do that.”

“Do you think I could play that part or do you think I actually could be a gigolo?” O’Brien quipped before Goggins responded, “Well, I think you could do both. I think you could play that part and you could be that person in real life.”

The third installment of the Emmy-winning HBO series, which explores various guests and employees of a luxury resort over the span of a week, will be set at a Thailand resort. In addition to Goggins, the cast includes Natasha Rothwell, Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Blackpink member Lisa and more.

Last week, Goggins told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show that he couldn’t share any spoilers about the upcoming season. “I can’t tell you about the story of the character that I’m playing because I think Mike White would literally take one of us out,” he said.

The White Lotus season three is slated to premiere in 2025.