
all clothing. Burberry
belt. Anderson’s
boots. Manolo Blahnik
Fresh off an intense five-and-a-half-hour tennis match, Jason Isaacs appears anything but drained; his enthusiasm is evident even over Zoom. Despite being deep into an exhaustive press tour — and likely having fielded every imaginable question — he’s genuinely eager to chat with Schön! about ‘The White Lotus‘. Perhaps it’s the setting — a tennis camp in Spain — that leaves him eager to fill downtime. More likely, it’s because Isaacs himself is a genuine fan. “I’m slightly marvelling that I’m in it. I’m used to being in indie movies that don’t come out – or come out and close quickly,” he laughs.
Season three of Mike White’s acclaimed dark comedy-drama transports viewers to a wellness retreat in Koh Samui, with Isaacs portraying Timothy Ratliff, a wealthy patriarch travelling with his family. Landing a role in such a coveted ensemble required Isaacs to step outside his norm and audition. “Because I don’t normally audition,” he shares, “I was the same bumbling, stuttering, insecure fool that I had been for the first ten years of my career.”
Isaacs is known for his remarkable ability to fully inhabit each character he portrays, seamlessly adopting new accents as needed. In ‘The Death of Stalin’, the Yorkshire accent felt natural from the script itself, while for ‘Harry Potter’, he crafted Lucius Malfoy’s voice to “drip with entitlement and arrogance and scorn.” Yet that performance almost didn’t happen. “I came up with his voice and they weren’t going to let me do it,” Isaacs recalls. “I did the first rehearsal, and [Chris Columbus and David Heyman] went, ‘I don’t know, it’s very, very extreme.’ Daniel [Radcliffe] was standing there, and he went, ‘I think it’s cool.’”
In his forthcoming film ‘The Salt Path‘, a poignant biographical drama adapted from Raynor “Ray” Winn’s memoir, Isaacs plays Moth Winn, a man grappling with homelessness and the devastating effects of corticobasal degeneration, a rare neurological disorder. “It’s a horrible cliché when people say that the landscape is a character in the film, but it’s a huge character in their life,” Isaacs reflects, noting the remarkable improvement in Moth’s condition during long walks. “Every audience member can guess, ‘Is it love? Is it nature?’,” he muses. “I like to believe it’s love.”
Looking ahead, Isaacs is gearing up to begin shooting several independent films, chosen as much for the creative challenge they offer him as for the enjoyment they promise audiences. “I’m not looking to build a career,” he explains. “I’m not looking to be anything that I’m not. I just want to keep having an interesting time at work.”
For now, he’s savouring time with his daughters — “Any time I can be on the same continent, my heart just settles a bit.” — and anticipating how many more hours of tennis he can squeeze in tomorrow.

full look. ZEGNA

shirt. Fursac
trousers. Edward Sexton
boots. R.M Williams
bracelets throughout. Jason’s own
watch. TAG Heuer

all clothing. Edward Sexton
shoes. Harrys of London
opposite
full look. ZEGNA

jumper. Connolly
‘The White Lotus‘ Season 3 is streaming on Now TV. ‘The Salt Path’ is in UK cinemas on 30th May.
Get your print copy of Schön! 48 at Amazon Globally, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Italy, Amazon Spain, Amazon Netherlands, Amazon Poland, Amazon Belgium, Amazon Sweden and the UK Schön! store.
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photography. Lee Malone
fashion. Gareth Scourfield @ One Represents
talent. Jason Isaacs wearing Burberry + Manolo Blahnik
grooming. Nohelia Reyes using Merit Beauty + Maria Nila
photography assistant. Jake Milsom
fashion assistant. Andrew Burling
words. Amber Louise