Even Murray Bartlett is Excited for ‘The White Lotus’ Season Three: “It’s an Incredible Cast”

Fantasy became reality when Murray Bartlett touched down at the Sundance Film Festival.

“I’m super excited because it’s all new and I’ve always fantasized about being here,” the veteran star told The Hollywood Reporter while standing on the red carpet last month inside Park City’s Eccles Center Theatre where he joined co-stars John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, Juliette Lewis, Stephanie Suganami and Tatanka Means at the world premiere of festival entry Opus from filmmaker Mark Anthony Green and A24.

Opus follows Ariel, a young writer (Edebiri), who receives a surprise invitation to join a group of journalists and media personalities in making the trek to the compound of a global pop superstar, Alfred Moretti (Malkovich), who has resurfaced after a 30 year disappearance. When the group arrives, they soon realize that Moretti is a figure of obsession for those around him and there are nefarious plans in place.

The film touches on themes of celebrity, fame and idolatry and THR asked Bartlett about his relationship to notoriety since he’s been seen on screens for more than 30 years. He was quick to say his experience is much different than someone like Moretti. “I love what I do and when people appreciate what I do, I feel really fortunate. I am not at the point where I’m chased down the street or anything,” he explained. “I live in the woods, so that helps because in most of my personal life, it’s just me and my dog and the trees. When I go into cities, people say nice things to me and it’s sweet.”

Asked whether those compliments are coming more for The White Lotus or The Last of Us these days, Bartlett said it’s “a bit equal” as of late. “I’m thrilled about that partly because they’re so different and that’s kind of cool. I’m so proud of both of those shows for some different reasons. But yeah, it’s lovely to have people be excited by work that you’re proud of,” he added.

Speaking of Mike White‘s beloved HBO series White Lotus, season three is about to drop on Max on Feb. 16. The cast is once again star studded, with Natasha Rothwell returning alongside new recruits like Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn, Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Blackpink’s Lisa, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Tayme Thapthimthong, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Nicholas Duvernay, Francesca Corney, Arnas Fedaravičius, Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris and Julian Kostov.

“I love that show. I loved being a part of it,” Bartlett continued. “I love that people love it. I’m really excited for the third season. I feel like it’s going to be amazing. It’s an incredible cast and I think Mike White’s a genius. He gifted me this sort of different period of my life where I have some choices and I’m working with wonderful people on things that I really love. I will always be grateful to him for that.”

Bartlett also seemed grateful for another experience he just had working alongside Amy Adams on the upcoming film At the Sea for filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó. The story follows a woman who returns to her family’s beach home after getting out of rehab. Once there, she attempts to readjust to her old life without her career that gave her identity.

“Fast and furious, a very, very quick shoot but it was a beautiful experience,” detailed Bartlett. “It was one of those things that everyone involved was there because they loved the script and they loved the group of people. We were exhausted afterward. We all fell in a heap. I hope you see it and love it. I think it can be something really special. I got to work with Amy Adams, who’s one of my heroes and someone who is just is so in the moment that you just kind of get pulled into being very present. It was a dreamy experience for me.”