IN CONVERSATION WITH ADAM DIMARCO

Adam DiMarco is one of the leads on season two of the HBO series ‘The White Lotus’, which just aired its last episode of the season. After appearing in shows like ‘The Magicians’ and ‘The Order’‹, Adam’s role on this season of ‘The White Lotus’ definitely stands out in his career.

coat and sweater FERRAGAMO
pants LANVIN
boots JIL SANDER
rings MAOR

Adam, what was your reaction when you got cast on the second season of the very popular series ‘The White Lotus’?

I was crazy excited, obviously. It felt very surreal. And then my manager put me in touch with Fred Hechinger, who was in the first season. He played Quinn, the son in the first season, and he was so great. And I was playing the son in this season, so I just asked him some questions about being a son and working with Mike White and just what the experience was like. It was really great talking to him before heading out there to work on it. And he ended up visiting set at one point, which was really cool to meet him and show him what we were doing in season two.

How do you relate to your character, Albie?

A lot of the actors would say that everyone was pretty perfectly cast in this. It’s pretty hard to picture someone else playing the other roles. There’s just these innate qualities that everyone kind of shares with their character. But that being said, I think a lot of people online now think that we’re playing ourselves, which is not the case. We’re definitely more different than we are similar. I’m definitely a lot more confident than Albie and creative. And I’m kind of like the black sheep of my family and he’s the golden boy. But with any character you play, there’s parts of you that you incorporate into the character and you just fill in the blanks, so there can be an overlap at times.

In the second season of the series, Albie goes on vacation to Siciliy with his father, played by Michael Imperioli from ‘The Sopranos’, and grandfather, played by Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham. How was it starring alongside these two iconic actors?

It was really a dream role and a dream project, and Michael and Murray are just such fantastic actors and truly great people to be around. I saw Michael Imperioli the last time I was in New York. He adn his wife had me over and made me breakfast. He cooked me scrambled eggs with onion and they had gluten free rice cakes for me, which was very cute. They kind of felt like a little surrogate family. And then my real parents came to visit Sicily, so they actually got to meet my fake dad and my fake grandpa. We all had dinner together and everyone got along well and it was like a really cool kind of world’s colliding moment.

But yeah, they’re both very talented, very funny, fun to be around. Murray would sometimes recount Shakespeare’s sonnets for me in between takes, which is just like having a one man show, and it was amazing. A lot of people pay a lot of money for that.

Typically, the second season as well started with a big mystery murder. How surprised were you when you finally found out which character was meeting its fate?

Well, we got the first six episodes and I devoured them. And then we had to wait for the seventh and we were all kind of going crazy, needing to know who died. Everyone online is talking about how someone dies. But in the first episode, in the first scene they mention it’s multiple people, so it’s even more shocking than you can imagine.

It’s definitely shocking and surprising, just like it was in the first season. And what’s brilliant about Mike White’s storytelling, I genuinely feel as a viewer it could be anyone or any combination of people, and it would be plausible and work within the context of the crazy ‘White Lotus’ universe that he’s created.

As we now know, the third season is confirmed as well. What is your dream scenario for the third season?

I think it’s fun to watch the show and kind of see a different place of the world vicariously through the lens of Mike and the cinematographer. I would pick somewhere that I haven’t been, that I really want to go to. So for me, that would be either like France or Japan. Those would be cool to me. Or maybe Australia or maybe New Zealand.

‘The White Lotus’ filmed its second season in Sicily. How was the experience of filming in Italy, and in Sicily nonetheless?

It was an incredible experience. Everything was incredible about it, where we were staying, the people I was surrounded with, the quality of the writing and projects were insane. Every day in the hotel, outside the hotel, it was just beautiful. And I feel like I made some really good friends as well. When you’re in a foreign country where not everyone speaks your language, you’re kind of forced to connect with each other, especially living in the same hotel. But if you do find people that you connect with, it’s kind of like the best scenario ever. It was just really fun. I think it’s an all timer for me and I think it’ll always have a very special place in my heart. It’s gonna be hard to beat. Thanks Mike.

Having Italian roots, what would you say is your favorite thing about Italy?

I guess for me it would just be the scenery. I mean, obviously the food is amazing too, and the wine. I’m gonna do a tie between the food and the scenery.

It’s breathtaking, stunning views. You could wander into a random church or chapel in Palermo and see an original Rembrandt or something. And then you look and there’s Mount Etna, which is visually also very stimulating. It’s a very stimulating country for all of the senses.

You’ve been open about your anxiety. What would you say is the root of it? How do you deal with overcoming it?

I’ve talked about it a little bit. In relation to coming into this project, I think it’s a healthy amount of nerves and especially getting to work on such a big show and with all these great actors. But I think it’s really helpful just to talk about it. I pay someone to talk to them about it and get their counsel. I think men’s mental health is really important. And it’s important to talk about, so that other people also don’t feel alone. Everyone experiences it in different ways and you just have to find what works for you. For me, I find talking about it with someone, a friend or a counselor, and then also just being on top of simple things like sleep and diet and exercise, all that boring stuff, helpful as well.

You’ve been in the industry now for over a decade. What would you describe as a defining moment that made you pursue a career in acting?

I went to university in Canada, where I was studying life sciences and I just wasn’t enjoying it. I kind of saw four years, maybe more, of the process of lectures and stuff and I wasn’t passionate about what I was learning about. Like a lot of people, I was escaping through film and TV. I grew up in not a super small town in Canada, but not a big city either and I never really even considered the film industry as a possible career path. I thought about being a writer, and then I thought about acting as well.

I was watching the show ‘Lost’ and it was my favorite show. I was obsessed with it, reading the theories online and all that stuff. And it filmed in Hawaii and I thought that looks like such a fun job. It was bringing me comfort and peace and a little escape. So I just kind of had this epiphany and was like let me try it at least. And if it doesn’t work out, I can always go back to school and study something else, but I should give it a good shot. And when I graduated from film school, I was like I’m gonna give this 10 years, because if you expect too much too soon, you could be disappointed. And sometimes acting is a war of attrition, you just have to keep at it. You have years where you’re doing better than others and years where nothing’s going on. So if you average it out over a decade, you’ll get a clearer picture of where you’re at. And then the pandemic happened, so I was like maybe I’ll give it two more years.

So now that you’ve given it 10 plus 2 years, what’s next?

I’m just reading scripts and auditioning. I’m pretty open to going in a lot of directions. I would love to do a romantic comedy, I would love to do a superhero movie or a cool indie horror. I’m pretty open to whatever comes next.

What excites you the most about acting and this industry?

I really like the process of creating something and being involved collaboratively with people that I get along with. So whenever that happens, I feel very fulfilled in that aspect of my life. When you make something that you’re proud of and then it’s out there, it’s such a great feeling.

interview by JANA LETONJA