In the season three finale of The White Lotus, we witnessed how mother and son worked together this season to get that bag. That’s right, people. Belinda is now one of the rich elite, and she has Nicholas Duvernay, who plays her college-age son Zion, to thank for it.
“College, that’s gotta get paid for. [Belinda’s] not rolling in it either, and she’s always wanted to start her own business,” Duvernay tells EBONY. “You saw in season one; she was talking to Tanya about starting her own spot that obviously didn’t go to plan. Zion’s thinking we have to pay these bills, and mom deserves her own business so she can stop working for someone else.”
Obviously, his college lessons are paying off. Zion’s negotiating skills got him and his mom a lot more than $100K. But it’s not all about the money (though that’s a big get). It’s about this young Black man knowing firsthand how to treat his mother like the queen she is.
“We’ve seen that Greg has a very close eye on his mother; if anything, he would be trying to kill Greg, you know, just to protect his mother,” Duvernay shared over how far Zion would have gone to keep Belinda safe.
The absence of a father figure has made Zion aware that he is the man of the house. “We’ve built out this world where Zion didn’t grow up with his father and being a man, you want to be a protector,” the actor exclaimed, devling deeper into Zion’s motivations. “Not having that growing up, he really had that incentive and more so to be that for his mom, but also be her best friend and her ride or die, because they really lean on each other. You protect the people that you love.”
This protective instinct isn’t much of a stretch for the actor, who shares a close relationship with his own mom. “We both love fashion. She’s put me on the fragrances, so we definitely bond over that. Growing up, my dad worked so much, so she was my go-to person. She taught me so much about myself.”
Adulting has given Duvernay a new perspective on his parents. “As you get older, you get to know them as people,” he stated. “I’m kind of in that stage of my life. Zion is as well. He has such a good rapport with his mom. It wasn’t too far off for me from my personal lifestyle.”
His on-screen connection with Natasha Rothwell, who plays his mother Belinda, is just as good. “She’s so playful, and she gives you so many different things to pull off. If I’m nervous—there’s been many days where I’ve leaned on her,” he gushed. “She really took me under her wing and kind of put me at ease. She’s been a pivotal part in feeling at home and able to wrap my head around this whole experience.”
The White Lotus experience doesn’t always work out well for its guests (sorry Rick, Chelsea and Jim), but it was a transformative one for Duvernay. He immersed himself in the local culture during his six-month stay in Thailand for filming, even taking up Muay Thai. “I was training as a fighter for six months, just in my downtime,” he revealed. “I found out that you could get four-hour massages, which is just a whole other world out there.”
A dedicated gym enthusiast, Duvernay has continued his Muay Thai training in Los Angeles, cherishing the memories of his time in Thailand. “I honestly miss it. It took me a while to finally come down from it and understand what it was for me at the time. And now I think I’m ready to revisit.”
For those who have been wondering since Duvernay arrived at the The White Lotus, despite the shared last name, he and award-winning director Ava DuVernay are not related. “It’s almost a question I expect every time I meet somebody, just because it’s not a very common last name,” he said.
“I finally met her during award season, and, she was like, ‘You’re Nicholas Duvernay.’ And I was like, you’re Ava DuVernay,” he recalled with a chuckle. “It was so nice to connect finally. And we’re like, ‘We might be related. Who knows?’”
Wouldn’t that be an interesting twist to add to The White Lotus, season four?
