The Australian actor on creating his character Armond, the magic of Tales of the City and that meme-inspiring suitcase scene

• Bake-Off contestant Jürgen Krauss: ‘I had to call three families with crying kids to comfort them’
  
• See the Observer’s faces of 2021 in full

Sydney-born actor Murray Bartlett, 50, made his screen debut aged 16 in medical soap The Flying Doctors. He worked in Australian TV and film before being cast as a guest star in Sex and the City in 2002. Subsequent TV credits include Dom Basaluzzo in HBO’s gay comedy-drama Looking and Michael “Mouse” Tolliver in the Netflix revival of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. This year, he starred as luxury Hawaii spa resort manager Armond in HBO’s hit satire The White Lotus, shown in the UK on Sky Atlantic.

How did you land your role in The White Lotus?
I did a self-tape audition in lockdown, then spoke to [writer/director] Mike White on the phone. Before I knew it, I was on the plane to Hawaii and landing in paradise, which was bizarre and thrilling. There’d been times early in the pandemic when I thought: “Should I get another skill? Maybe acting won’t be a thing any more.” So The White Lotus came as an extraordinary surprise. I felt guilty talking to my actor friends about it because it was such a dreamy job.