Season 2 of The White Lotus blessed us with a star-studded cast including American Pie alum, Jennifer Coolidge, Divergent's Theo James, Scarface's F. Murray Abraham, Emily the Criminal's Aubrey Plaza, and The Sopranos' Michael Imperioli.
It also introduced us to breakout stars like Haley Lu Richardson who plays Portia, the assistant of Coolidge's Tanya; Adam DiMarco, who plays the "nice guy" Albie, and Simona Tabasco, the Italian actress who plays Lucia — the escort that "played" Albie.
Without a doubt, Lucia scammed Albie, but Tabasco thinks her character actually had feelings for the Stanford graduate. Here's everything she's said about her role in The White Lotus.
Who Was Simona Tabasco Before Joining The White Lotus Season 2?
Before starring in The White Lotus, Tabasco rose to fame in Italy when she played Dr. Elisa Russo on RaiUno's medical drama Doc – Nelle Tue Mani (Doc – In Your Hands), back in 2020.
She made her streaming debut a year later, playing the lead of the Italian Netflix show, Luna Park. The Naples native was also a series regular on RaiUno’s IBastardi di Pizzofalcone (The Bastards of Pizzofalcone), È Arrivata la Felicità (Happiness Arrived), and Fuoriclasse 2 (Out of Class 2).
Prior to her TV and streaming career, Tabasco's first-ever film — the Ciak Award-nominated Perez — earned her the Guglielmo Biraghi award at the Nastro d'Argento Awards in 2015. After that, she was cast in other films like 2016's I Babysitter, 2018's Bob & Marys, and 2020's The Ties.
Aside from acting, the 28-year-old frequents the Milan Fashion Week and has received Filming Italy's Young Generation award at the Venice Film Festival in September 2022. Now based in Rome, she's represented by Volver Actor in Italy and imPRint in the US, but has recently signed with WME for representations following her White Lotus success.
What Simona Tabasco Feels About Playing Lucia, In The White Lotus 2
Lucia is quite a force — a young adult worker who according to fans, "won" at the end. Though many fans rooted for the onscreen escort, Tabasco still felt like she needed to explain her character's lifestyle.
"I totally think that she's playing a part — that she was not an escort before, that she is someone who has made a decision about what she wanted to do and found a way to make it happen," she recently told TheWrap.
"So what she does is goes through life," she continued.
"And through the White Lotus, maybe in a sometimes clumsy, funny way of playing the part of Lucia, the sex worker, that's just on a track to achieve her dream one way or another."
When asked about Lucia's schemes, Tabasco said: "She's probably just down for the ride, not exactly aware of what she’s creating around her of the mess she's making [or] of the magnitude of the situation she's in. But she's all in."
Why Simona Tabasco Thinks Lucia Had Feelings For Albie In White Lotus 2
According to Tabasco, Lucia "was in love" with Albie despite swindling him in the end.
"When I read the script, I thought she was in love with Albie because I think what happened was she was not exactly sure she would be bumping into someone as pure as him," the actress shared with Variety in December 2022.
"I would say that in the end she is a good girl and probably is pure at heart..."
She continued: "She sees an opportunity, she sees an occasion and she goes for it. She makes the decision. So, I do think she is a little bit in love with him but in the end the dream prevails, the objective prevails, the goal is what matters."
Even though Albie admitted to being "played" by Lucia while reuniting with Portia at the airport, Tabasco believes the former had real feelings for her character. "Maybe he was in love too," she said of Albie.
"Because sometimes when you're on holiday vacation you just feel your emotions in a heightened way. So, maybe he was in love. When I read the script, I dreamt about Lucia and Albie at the end, maybe in Los Angeles or wherever in the world. But together."
Speaking to TheWrap, the actress also shared her theory about Lucia's genuine attraction to Albie. "She does say that she has always had this dream of going to the United States [and] going to Los Angeles," she said. "And probably that's another element that she feels attracted to [in] Albie, because he comes from such a different world of hers, which is Taormina."
Well, we've all had our Lucia or Albie at one point in our youth.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoaddrK60edKipKimkWLBoq7ArJqoZZKas7C%2BxGahqKGenruoedahoK2dXaG8tcHSZqqemaOku25%2Bjg%3D%3D