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Jon Gries has secured the rare bragging right of being the only actor to check into Mike White’s acerbic anthology for every season so far. His character was introduced in season one as an easygoing man with a terminal illness who crossed paths with the wealthy, oblivious Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) while vacationing in Hawaii. By the Italy-set sophomore run, it became clear Greg was actually a sinister enigma, one who would go on to plot his wife’s death to nab her inheritance. 

His appearance in season three was kept a secret, so everyone was in for a shock when Greg—sorry, Gary—showed up in Thailand in the premiere. He’s gotten away with murder and is living large, with a lavish villa, a hot girlfriend, and a sleek yacht. But now that Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), the sunny White Lotus employee who was roped in by Tanya back in season one, spots him and digs into his past, that high life is in jeopardy.  

The A.V. Club spoke to Gries—while his adorable, interruptive pet parrot Pablo sat on his arm—about reprising the role, working with White and Rothwell again, tapping into Greg’s darkness, and what the character’s ultimate fate might be. 

The A.V. Club: How did Mike White pitch each season’s arc to you?

Jon Gries: The truth is that if Mike White called and said, “Listen, Greg eats dog food on his knees out of a bowl,” I’d say, “It’s alright, I’ll be there.” Each season you obviously get invested in what you’re playing. In season one, I was playing him such that he was very ill and had opted to live in the moment. He didn’t want to be bothered with trivialities. I believe that’s why he was so driven to not worry about whatever Tanya’s concerns were. It was her own manufactured dramas. 

Then moving on to season two, Mike texted me and asked if I was available as he was writing the episodes. I said of course I was; I wouldn’t think twice about it. Then he said, “By the way, Greg’s diabolical.” My reaction was that [it] sounded fun, and that’s pretty much it. Yes, it’s a pivot but you can easily see that this lovely guy is sweet with this wealthy heiress, and I could see where the pieces would fit for Mike’s plan in season two. I embraced it. There were levels to it, of course. Mike’s had to coax me to that place. Because of my nature, I didn’t go for the gusto of being as irritated with Tanya as Greg seemed to be. But obviously we wanted to indicate that he’s involved [in her death]. 

AVC: How did exploring Greg’s dark side more openly in the third season help you understand the character? 

JG: To me, he’s the type of person who would give somebody just one chance with whatever it is he wants to do. I built certain things like that into the character and his attitude. He gives someone one chance, and if it doesn’t work out, there’s a plan B and that plan is probably sinister and diabolical. You can understand then that he’s your run-of-the-mill psychopath. I don’t mean to generalize, of course.  

AVC: You see that in episode six, when Greg questions Chloe about the Ratliff brothers, giving her a chance to admit she slept with one of them. And when she doesn’t, there’s a plan formulating in his head. Is that how you and Mike wanted to play it?

JG: Exactly, that’s a keen read on that scene. The interesting thing is working with Mike just clarified one really important thing for me, which is that he’s a very generous director and wants to see the actor discover and find the pieces of the character. If he feels like [the performance] is so far off the mark, he’ll rein you in, but otherwise, he’d just look at me and say, “You’re right, and this is how I see where Greg is going.” We had this tacit understanding while filming this episode but also overall. At one point, I was talking to him about it, and he said, “Yeah, you know the character. You’ve already played him for two seasons. We don’t need to talk about it.” It was never a dismissal, but it was just a total boost of confidence. 

AVC: What is it about a character like Greg that makes him co*pelling enough to follow for three seasons? 

JG: I think that Greg is the outlier. We’re seeing a lot of aspects of humanity in the show and how things can go dark, like the way Jake Lacy and Murray Bartlett’s characters in season one had this ongoing thing that developed and turned into something out of their control. Greg is a phantom in that sense. He’s the darkest part of it all but just dressed up. A lot of people have the ability to be introspective and to suffer the pain of whatever it is they’re going through. I don’t think he does, and I don’t think he’s capable of it, at least at this point. That’s interesting to see evolve. 

AVC: Do you think Greg is genuinely possessive of Chloe in that moment or that he’s trying to figure out how to make her a pawn?  

JG: I don’t know if he’s possessive of her or if that’s the way to look at it. He just doesn’t like the idea that she feels enough freedom in his world to go ahead without including Greg. I think from Greg’s point of view, that is not part of the way he likes to play his game. I don’t think he even cares about what folly she gets involved in, whether it’s se* or whatever. He just doesn’t like the fact that she is running outside of the lanes that they have agreed that they’re both in together.

AVC: The themes of this season are death, spirituality, and karmic retribution. Can you say anything about how Greg fits into those by the end and if justice will be served? 

JG: I could co*e up with so many scenarios for Greg, but you can’t anticipate where Mike White will go, that’s for sure. Of course, everybody sees these shows and all they want to do is manifest and create ideas about how it’ll end and who’ll die. Most people that I talked to who are friends or family will say, “Oh, it’d be really cool if this happens.” Everybody likes to know ahead of time, which to me is really funny. It’s just something about us humans. Maybe it’s a survival mechanism. It’s just natural that we want to go, “Okay, what happens, what happens?” But no, you’ve got to wait. [Laughs] Even though I know what happens, I’m actually waiting to see how it plays out week to week. 

AVC: Greg’s co*euppance might likely co*e through Belinda. Can you say anything about what he might’ve planned for her and what it was like to work with Natasha, especially in that final confrontation between them in episode six?

JG: Greg has that attitude I was talking about that’s not based on empathy or sympathy or concern. He just has a rule. And his rule is to give one opportunity, and if one thing doesn’t work, he is going to figure something else out. Whatever plan B for her is, it’s going to be labor-intensive and requires more planning. Purely out of laziness, he doesn’t want to have to do it. It’s not because he’s concerned about people. But he’s going to have to. Also, I can’t say enough great stuff about Natasha. She’s such an amazing talent and a helpful, generous actor. I remember doing a take of the scene you mentioned, and I changed something based on a suggestion that she barely dropped. I did it, and she was like, “Yeah, that freaked me out.” 

AVC: Do you remember what it was she suggested and you changed? 

JG: Yes, but that’s a trade secret, an actor’s magic trick [laughs].

AVC: That’s fair. Apart from Natasha, what was it like to work with a new cast this season, including Jason Isaacs in the fourth episode? As a side note, it’s funny that Greg has a yacht now with all his money and that Tanya died when she fell off of one. 

JG: I know. We never really discussed the parallel between the two boats. It’s funny, of course, that he would go and buy a yacht. It’s certainly a way to look at the inner workings of his mind a bit. And yes, Jason is an amazing actor and he’s doing such a good job on the show. He’s just knocking it out of the park. Everybody in season three is knocking it out of the park. 

AVC: Do you miss working with Jennifer Coolidge? She said in an interview recently that she’s been watching season three and wants Greg to pay for his crimes. 

JG: She’s right, obviously. [Laughs] She is so gracious and an amazing professional. I adore her. Some of the most exciting things I’ve ever done include working in scenes with her because she’s electric. I love that she’s still rooting for the show, not that she wouldn’t be because it’s been wonderful for all of us, but she’s still invested in it. I think everybody who’s been part of this world would feel the same way. Mike White is a genius, and we’re just little minds that can’t keep up.