Laura Dern to join White Lotus cast after Helena Bonham Carter drops out

Laura Dern, star of Jurassic Park, Marriage Story and Blue Velvet, will join the cast of HBO's The White Lotus next season.

It comes after Helena Bonham Carter left production for the upcoming series earlier this week, just months after it was revealed she had joined the cast.

Dern joins Steve Coogan, Chris Messina and Marissa Long in the latest series of the hit programme - which follows the exploits of guests and staff during a week at a fictional luxury global resort hotel chain called The White Lotus.

Details on her character are yet to be announced.

Dern, 59, has previously worked with Mike White, the show's creator and director, on the 2007 rom-com Year Of The Dog and the 2011 comedy series Enlightened.

The actress is best known for her turns in 1993's Jurassic Park and 2019's Marriage Story, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She's also well known for her work with director David Lynch, starring in 1986's Blue Velvet, 1990's Wild At Heart, 2017's Twin Peaks: The Return, and 2006's Inland Empire.

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The White Lotus has previously featured the likes of Aimee Lou Wood, Jason Isaacs, Walton Goggins, Sydney Sweeney, Aubrey Plaza, and the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger.

Bafta winner Wood told Sky News last February that filming season three in Thailand was "obviously incredible", but added that it left her "really overwhelmed".

"I had this amazing adventure, but I missed home," she told entertainment reporter Debbie Ridgard. "But then, when I was at home, I really missed the adventure.

"And I also missed my friends that I've made in The White Lotus because they did become home."

(c) Sky News 2026: Laura Dern to join White Lotus cast after Helena Bonham Carter drops out