K-Pop Star LISA Was A Fan of “White Lotus” For A Long Time
Get ready and brace yourselves! Blackpink’s Lisa is about to take the world by storm yet again. Not only is she dropping her highly anticipated solo album, Alter Ego, at the end of the month, but she’s also making her grand entrance into the acting world. Say hello to Mook, Lisa’s character in the upcoming season of The White Lotus.
You read that right: Lisa, credited under her full name, Lalisa Manoban, is stepping into Hollywood with a role in the Emmy-winning HBO series. She plays Mook, a health-conscious guru who guides guests at a luxury beach resort in Thailand. But when she’s off the clock, things get interesting. Mook finds herself entangled in a romantic friendship with one of the resort’s security guards, the brooding yet charming Gaitok, played by Tayme Thapthimthong.
In an interview with Variety, Lisa gave fans a little insight into her character, saying, “Mook is kind of like me, but flirtier and more ladylike—I’m more of a tomboy.”
But even for a global superstar, stepping onto a film set for the first time wasn’t easy. “I was so nervous; I was sweating,” Lisa admitted. “I couldn’t remember my lines—I completely blanked!”
Still, she wasn’t just there to learn—she also helped her co-star Thapthimthong perfect his Thai lines. Since Thai is his second language, Lisa worked with him to ensure his character, born and raised on Ko Samui, sounded completely authentic. “She was a great help,” Thapthimthong said. “I started saying my lines in my usual way, and then they’d turn to k-pop icon and ask, ‘Can you help?’”
Lisa gladly stepped in, tweaking lines to make them sound as natural as possible. “I didn’t want him to sound out of place,” she explained. “I wanted everything to feel real.”
And when the cameras weren’t rolling? The cast made the most of their time together. “We’d go out for dinners, drinks, and karaoke nights,” Thapthimthong shared. “Everyone made an effort. When I’d start singing, Lisa would jump in with a dance routine.”
Surprisingly, despite her status as a K-pop icon, Lisa prefers to stay out of the karaoke spotlight. “I get shy,” she laughed. “I’ll just hang back.”
So, how did the star land this significant role? It turns out that she’s been a White Lotus fan for a while. “When I got the opportunity to audition, I thought, ‘Why not?’ I’d never acted before, but I wanted to give it a shot,” she said. “I was so lucky and happy that I got the role.”
With Alter Ego on the horizon and The White Lotus debut just around the corner, Lisa is proving that there’s nothing she can’t do. Blinks, are you ready for this new era?
