House of Guinness Star Anthony Boyle Outdoes Theo James’ White Lotus Nude Scene — No Prosthetics
House of Guinness turns up the heat as Anthony Boyle outdoes Theo James’ White Lotus shocker with an unflinching full-frontal, playing Arthur Guinness—a closeted heir whose marriage of convenience sets a scandalous tone for the lavish new drama.
TV power plays do not get more literal than this: Anthony Boyle just went full frontal on Netflix, and yes, it was the real deal. Meanwhile, The White Lotus is packing its bags again, this time for France, and House of Guinness fans are already asking about season 2. Let’s unpack the nudity, the next destination, and the renewal odds.
Anthony Boyle goes all in on House of Guinness
Boyle plays Arthur Guinness in the historical drama, a man who is closeted and steered into a pre-arranged marriage to keep up appearances. Shortly after meeting his future wife, there is a bath scene: he stands up completely naked while an older servant holds his towel. The point is not subtle — dominance, hierarchy, control — and Boyle wanted the scene to make that perfectly clear.
He told Men’s Health he made the call himself to ditch the towel. Originally, the script had Arthur by a mirror, fiddling with cufflinks. The night before filming, Boyle pushed to change it to a stand-up-from-the-bath moment, totally nude, because the character would not need words to assert that the room — and the people in it — belonged to him. He also confirmed it was 100% him on screen, no prosthetic involved.
Remember Theo James in The White Lotus?
Season 2 gave us the infamous changing-room beat: Theo James as Cameron Babcock strips down in the background while Aubrey Plaza’s Harper Spiller is in the foreground, and, for a week, half the internet debated whether that was real. James later cleared it up on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Variety picked up the confirmation — saying it was a prosthetic and it had a point beyond shock value.
"It’s not about the pee pee, it’s about power play and sex."
Both scenes are doing the same job thematically. Boyle just chose authenticity to sell it, which — fair to say — ups the intensity.
The White Lotus season 4 is headed to France
HBO has officially ordered season 4, and Casey Bloys told Deadline the plan is France. He kept it broad — France is the destination, but specifics are still being sorted — with chatter pointing toward the French Riviera. Deadline has also floated luxe possibilities like Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat and Hotel George V in Paris. After Hawaii, Italy, and Thailand, France fits the show’s very expensive passport.
Will House of Guinness get a season 2?
Netflix has not announced a renewal yet, but the early numbers are strong and the season ended on a cliffhanger, so the appetite is there. Netflix’s own Tudum pegs week-one viewing at 35.7 million hours globally, which is a solid start.
Creator Steven Knight told Radio Times he has, unsurprisingly, mapped out where the story could go. He is aiming big but playing coy: he has thought about how far it could run, and now it is a wait-and-see.
Both shows are pushing their respective buttons — one with unapologetic period-power theater, the other with its trademark vacation-from-hell social chess. What are you more excited to see next: more Arthur Guinness fallout or a fresh round of Lotus chaos on the Riviera?
House of Guinness is streaming on Netflix. The White Lotus streams on HBO Max in the US.