“The White Lotus” star Murray Bartlett has returned to his native Australia to film “Place to Be,” the latest project from Cannes and Venice winner Kornél Mundruczó (“White God,” “Pieces of a Woman”), which is currently shooting.
In “Place to Be,” Bartlett plays Ron, Pamela Anderson’s hapless brother, with the siblings plotting to re-home their mother Brooke (Ellen Burstyn) and access their late artist father’s inheritance.
“We’re attempting to shuffle our mother into a high-end aged care facility,” Bartlett tells Variety. “He kind of presents as prickly… But there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot happened in this family dynamic, particularly with his father, who has passed away.”
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The drama, written by award-winning screenwriter Kata Wéber (known for “Pieces of a Woman” and “White God”), follows the unlikely friendship between no-nonsense Brooke and discombobulated divorcee Nelson, played by Taika Waititi, as they travel from Chicago to New York to return a lost racing pigeon.
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This marks Bartlett’s second collaboration with Mundruczó and Wéber, having previously worked with them on “At the Sea,” which is currently in post.
“On the final night [of filming ‘At the Sea’], he was like, ‘Oh, I’m making a film in your home country, in Australia, and there’s a role that’s right for you in it,'” Bartlett recalls. “We loved working together… it’s a lovely thing when you find people that you really connect with and you work well together.”
Bartlett praises the Hungarian director’s unique approach: “He’s an amazing director in that he wants to be surprised… he kind of pushes you in directions that feel surprising as well sometimes when you’re working, which is a beautiful challenge.”
The actor also expresses admiration for Wéber’s writing: “When all those dimensions are already in the script for you, it’s such a beautiful thing. And Kata has written a really gorgeous, gorgeous script. I think that they’ve just developed a language in the scripts and in the filmmaking that just really captures some kind of essence of the human experience.”
Bartlett’s career has flourished since his Emmy-winning turn as hotel manager Armond in “The White Lotus.” When asked how that series changed his life, he acknowledges the dramatic shift.
“The follow-on from that was that I began to have more choices, choices that I’ve never had as an actor before, which was a really beautiful thing,” Bartlett says.
The actor is also currently working on Michael Sarnoski’s “The Death of Robin Hood” opposite Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer, describing it as “a dark sort of retelling of the end of Robin Hood’s life” where he plays “a mysterious character that lives at the Priory” who connects with Robin Hood.
“It’s a fable, so he’s kind of really leaning into that kind of mystical world,” Bartlett explains about Sarnoski’s approach. “We had an amazing experience shooting it in Northern Ireland.”
His recent success includes a critically acclaimed standalone episode of “The Last of Us,” along with his role in “Welcome to Chippendales,” both of which earned him Emmy nominations.
“It was such a beautiful script,” Bartlett says of “The Last of Us” episode. “When we got to set, everyone was kind of tearing up… we were all like, ‘Oh my God, we get to tell this story.’ It was very emotional.”
When discussing “Chippendales,” Bartlett notes, “‘Chippendales’ was a lot of fun and a great character to play. A great group of people and wonderful story, I thought.”
“A Place to Be” is produced by Jomon Thomas, Megan Wynn and Alexander Rodnyansky, with executive producers including Natalya Pavchinskaya, Stuart Manashil, Pankaj Mamtora, Kanesh Mohana Sundaram, Ashley Levinson, Sam Levinson, Viktoria Petranyi, David Edelstein and the late Kevin Turen.
Bartlett is represented by WME, Anonymous and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.
