CONNIE BRITTON

The Friday Night Lights and Nashville star, 54, says “aloha” in the six-episode satire The White Lotus (July 11 on HBO). She plays Nicole, a successful type-A exec on vacation at an exclusive Hawaiian resort. But during her stay, the picture-perfect trip takes on a darker tone as truths are revealed.

What attracted you to The White Lotus? I have been a huge fan of [creator] Mike White for a long time. He wrote Beatriz at Dinner, which I did a few years ago. He called in the middle of the pandemic and said, “We’re doing this really cool show in Maui.” At that point, it had been nine months in isolation. It was a wonderful opportunity to work with him again.

How did you relate to your character, Nicole? There’s so much about her that I understand. From the outside, it seems as though her life should be perfect, but she’s flawed and trying to figure out her values. She’s from a different generation, but she’s defied a lot of the odds of that generation. She’s an interesting portrait of some of the struggles of what it is to be a “woke” feminist woman.

Playing Tami Taylor in Friday Night Lights was a turning point in your career. What was your takeaway from that show? It was an incredible creative experience that felt very empowered and free. It was very intimate, very immediate. I think audiences were thrilled by that and appreciated that.

You grew up mostly in Virginia. How does being from the South affect the characters you play? It impacts the way I’m able to play them. Every character is different, and yet—especially with Rayna [Nashville] and Tami—I was able to infuse [them with] many of the women I grew up around, who inspired and influenced me.

What award came as a total surprise? Go to to find out.