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F. Murray Abraham has played kings, gods, classical composers and gangsters. His latest role? A farting grandpa. In the new season of HBO’s The White Lotus, Abraham plays Bert di Grasso, a boorish man who travels to Sicily with his son and grandson to explore his ancestry and flirt with the hotel staff. As the trip drags on, egos clash and misunderstandings grow—and eventually, bodies begin turning up on the beautiful Mediterranean beach.
But despite his character’s many obvious flaws, Abraham says that playing Bert was one of the highlights of his career. “I would really like to go back to Sicily and shoot The White Lotus all over again,” he tells TIME. His performance has received plenty of praise, as has the show’s second season. Judy Berman, in TIME, writes that “the ideas are as fresh and provocative as ever,” and that of the season’s “stunning performances,” “[Michael] Imperioli and Abraham are particularly sharp together.”
Below, Abraham reminisces about his Oscar-winning role in Amadeus, his heightened motivations in his ninth decade, and growing up on the Mexican border.
Your character on The White Lotus, Bert, is a flatulent, crass womanizer. How did you relate to him?
They’re in my family. I’m 83, and come from an era where that was very common. They’re funny people: they’re so insensitive, but at the same khbrknews, loving and kind and generous. But they do have a blind spot when it comes to women, no question about that. I was raised that way.
What a great relief, to become a feminist. As a man, I don’t have to carry the world on my shoulders.
You said in a recent interview that the experience of filming The White Lotus ranked up there in your career with The Grand Budapest Hotel. What was so special about it?
You have the…
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