Within the season three finale of HBO’s The White Lotus, we witnessed how mom and son labored collectively this season to get that bag. That’s proper, folks. Belinda is now one of many wealthy elites, and he or she has Nicholas Duvernay, who performs her college-age son Zion, to thank for it.
“School, that’s gotta receives a commission for. [Belinda’s] not rolling in it both, and he or she’s at all times wished to start out her personal enterprise,” Duvernay advised EBONY. “You noticed in season one; she was speaking to Tanya about beginning her personal spot that clearly didn’t go to plan. Zion’s pondering, we’ve got to pay these payments, and Mother deserves her personal enterprise so she will be able to cease working for another person.”
Clearly, his faculty classes are paying off. Zion’s negotiating expertise obtained him and his mother much more than $100K. However it’s not all concerning the cash (although that’s an enormous get). It’s about this younger Black man figuring out firsthand find out how to deal with his mom just like the queen she is.
“We’ve seen that Greg has a really shut eye on his mom; if something, he can be making an attempt to kill Greg, you recognize, simply to guard his mom,” Duvernay shared over how far Zion would have gone to maintain Belinda protected.
The absence of a father determine has made Zion conscious that he’s the person of the home. “We’ve constructed out this world the place Zion didn’t develop up together with his father and being a person, you need to be a protector,” the actor exclaimed, delving deeper into Zion’s motivations. “Not having that rising up, he actually had that incentive and extra so to be that for his mother but additionally be her finest good friend and her journey or die, as a result of they actually lean on one another. You shield the folks that you just love.”
This protecting intuition isn’t a lot of a stretch for the actor, who shares a detailed relationship together with his personal mother. “We each love vogue. She’s put me on the fragrances, so we positively bond over that. Rising up, my dad labored a lot, so she was my go-to particular person. She taught me a lot about myself.”
Adulting has given Duvernay a brand new perspective on his mother and father. “As you become older, you get to know them as folks,” he said. “I’m type of in that stage of my life. Zion is as nicely. He has such a very good rapport together with his mother. It wasn’t too far off for me from my private way of life.”
His on-screen reference to Natasha Rothwell, who performs his mom Belinda, is simply pretty much as good. “She’s so playful, and he or she offers you so many various issues to tug off. If I’m nervous—there’s been many days the place I’ve leaned on her,” he gushed. “She actually took me underneath her wing and type of put me comfy. She’s been a pivotal half in feeling at residence and in a position to wrap my head round this complete expertise.”
The White Lotus expertise doesn’t at all times work out nicely for its company (sorry Rick, Chelsea and Jim), nevertheless it was a transformative one for Duvernay. He immersed himself within the native tradition throughout his six-month keep in Thailand for filming, even taking on Muay Thai. “I used to be coaching as a fighter for six months, simply in my downtime,” he revealed. “I discovered that you might get four-hour massages, which is only a complete different world on the market.”
A devoted fitness center fanatic, Duvernay has continued his Muay Thai coaching in Los Angeles, cherishing the reminiscences of his time in Thailand. “I truthfully miss it. It took me some time to lastly come down from it and perceive what it was for me on the time. And now I feel I’m able to revisit.”

For individuals who have been questioning since Duvernay arrived at The White Lotus, regardless of the shared final title, he and award-winning director Ava DuVernay aren’t associated. “It’s nearly a query I count on each time I meet any individual, simply because it’s not a quite common final title,” he stated.
“I lastly met her throughout award season, and, she was like, ‘You’re Nicholas Duvernay.’ And I used to be like, you’re Ava DuVernay,” he recalled with a chuckle. “It was so good to attach lastly. And we’re like, ‘We is perhaps associated. Who is aware of?’”
Wouldn’t that be an fascinating twist so as to add to The White Lotus, season 4?