White Lotus Star Leo Woodall's Family Was 'Quite Flabbergasted' When They Saw His Racy Plot Twist
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HBO
Warning: This article contains spoilers from season 2 of The White Lotus.
Leo Woodall is one of the newest faces at The White Lotus's titular luxury resort, and after only a few episodes his character Jack was behind a plot twist many viewers didn't see coming.
In the final scene of last week's episode, perennially disappointed heiress Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) was staying at the Neapolitan villa of her new vacation friend Quentin (Tom Hollander), along with her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson), Quentin's nephew Jack — who had begun a fling with Portia — and several of the wealthy 50something Brit's friends.
RELATED: Everything to Know About The White Lotus Season 2
HBO
In the very last moments of "That's Amore," Tanya heard noises down the corridor and went to check out what might be causing them. While passing Quentin's room, she unwittingly got an eye full of him having sex with Jack, making it pretty clear they are not the relatives they claimed at the outset of their excursion with Tanya and Portia.
The scene created a stir on social media — and in Woodall's own family.
"I hadn't told a single soul that that happens, so they were all quite flabbergasted," the 26-year-old Englishman tells PEOPLE. "Yeah, that was a weird one."
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Courtesy of HBO
In fact, Woodall got to clock some of his family's reaction up close and personal.
"I don't know why I chose to watch with my brother," says the actor, who's currently in production on his new Netflix's drama One Day. "It was just funny. I recorded his reaction, and it was quite something."
Even though Woodall cheekily describes the idea of his mother watching the scene as a "look away" moment, he says she's been nothing but supportive that he booked Mike White's buzzy show. No surprise since he comes from a family of actors — his parents met at drama school, and his stepfather is also an actor.
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Courtesy of HBO
But despite being surrounded by performers (and having a "shining moment" playing Goggles the Penguin in a grammar school play), Woodall didn't choose to pursue acting professionally until he became an adult. After enrolling in drama school in his native London at age 19, he went on to appear in the Apple TV+ movie Cherry and Peacock's Vampire Academy.
Despite the experience under his belt, Woodall couldn't help being blown away by the extraordinary hotel where White Lotus filmed — not to mention the Emmy-winning series' A-list roster. During production, all the show's actors lived together on their five-star "set," making for a "completely bonkers" experience that left Woodall admittedly a bit starstruck.
"I met Michael [Imperioli] the first day in the gym, and I sort of forgot how to speak English," the actor recalls of meeting The Sopranos alum. "I said something [like], 'Really nice to see you later,' or something. 'Nice to...Hi, you. Bye.' And I just walked away like, You idiot!"
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Fabio Lovino/HBO
Regardless of that bumpy first encounter, Woodall quickly formed a close-knit bond with his castmates during their time on location in Italy.
"We all just kind of hung out because there was a lot of time where most of us wouldn't be filming. As a group, we'd all go on expeditions ... and see a bit of Sicily," he says. "Even though we're separated in the show, we were all just really, really good mates."
RELATED: The White Lotus Season 2: All the Stunning Real Places Where the Show Was Filmed in Sicily
Courtesy of HBO
Fans of the series might be especially surprised to learn Woodall and costar Adam DiMarco formed an especially tight bond despite their characters' competition for Portia's attention.
"I loved the scene where we talked to each other in episode 4. It was our only scene together," Woodall says of his character's on-screen introduction to DiMarco's Albie, who pitifully relents when he senses Portia has succumbed to Jack's charm. "It was the funniest thing on set because we just milked it. All those little awkward beats. Adam was just hilarious. He did several different variations of it, and the three of us just couldn't stop giggling."
Woodall shares that he and DiMarco are still "always texting" these days as they travel to different locales for their next projects away from the idyllic "paradise" he got to call home for a short time while he was "making the best show on telly."
Courtesy of HBO
Looking ahead to the final two episodes of the season, Woodall says fans can expect "more darkness, more drama."
And of course there's plenty of humor too — Woodall already teases there will be a contender for viewers' new favorite Tanya quote. "There's a funny line from Jennifer, which is in reaction to the big night that she's just seen me have sex," he says. "So see if you can catch that one."
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The White Lotus airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
