Sam Nivola has slammed ‘old movie stars’ for getting plastic surgery in order to play ‘young roles.’
The 21-year-old actor – who jumped into the spotlight for his portrayal of Lochlan Ratliff in The White Lotus earlier this year – shared his honest thoughts on the topic during an interview with Variety published on Thursday.
The star expressed that he feels there aren’t a lot of new stars breaking out into the entertainment industry in Hollywood.
‘The old movie stars are getting plastic surgery, and they’re looking younger and they’re staying young. You have these really old people playing young roles.’
Sam – who is the son of fellow actors Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola – continued, ‘And it’s not giving any space for the young’uns to move in and make a name for themselves.
‘With all due respect to those people, one day they won’t be here anymore, literally, and they will have to create new stars.’
Daily Mail has reached out to Nivola’s representatives for comment.
The White Lotus actor has slammed ‘old movie stars’ for getting plastic surgery in order to play ‘young roles’; cast of season three (2025) seen above
Sam Nivola, 21, told Variety, ‘The old movie stars are getting plastic surgery, and they’re looking younger and they’re staying young. You have these really old people playing young roles’; seen in April in Westlake Village
Sam then revealed that he is a big fan of Timothee Chalamet and called him one of the ‘best actors alive.’
‘He’s one of a very few examples I could come up with. But it’s a different kind of movie star; he’s not huge and jacked. He looks a little more like me,’ the star said, before adding, ‘I wish!’
Sam kicked off his acting career over a decade earlier when he appeared in an episode of Doll & Em in 2013 – which his mother Emily also starred in.
He later took on a role in the 2022 comedic drama White Noise and worked alongside Nicole Kidman in The Perfect Couple (2024).
Earlier this year, Sam played Lochlan Ratliff in the third season of HBO Max’s The White Lotus. The most recent episodes also had a star-studded cast, with Patrick Schwarzenegger portraying Sam’s on-screen older brother.
The pair took part in a now-infamous incest scene which was branded as ‘disturbing’ by some viewers at the time.
While also talking to Variety back in March over the scene, the actor admitted that it had been ‘weird’ to kiss Patrick.
‘It was very weird kissing Patrick because he’s a really good friend of mine,’ Sam explained to the outlet.
Sam then revealed that he is a big fan of Timothee Chalamet and called him one of the ‘best actors alive’; Timothee seen in March in Beverly Hills
Earlier this year, Sam played Lochlan Ratliff in the third season of HBO Max’s The White Lotus. The most recent episodes also had a star-studded cast, with Patrick Schwarzenegger portraying Sam’s on-screen older brother
‘It was very weird kissing Patrick because he’s a really good friend of mine,’ Sam explained to the outlet
‘And, you know, I’m straight, he’s straight. It’s already weird. Patrick was already like a brother to me. It felt sort of f**ked up.’
His mother Emily also offered her own thoughts on her son’s sex scene in The White Lotus with Patrick and fellow castmate Charlotte Le Bon – where they had a threesome.
‘It’s so crazy, all of it. It wasn’t particularly crazier than having my boy go off to Thailand for so long,’ The Pink Panther actress told The Times.
‘Of course it was a bit bizarre, but being married to an actor [Alessandro Nivola], we’ve all had to watch each other do strange things.’
Emily said that her son did give a warning about the scene – but not how many times it would be shown throughout the episode.
‘I had been warned – although Sam said that the worst bit was the first ten minutes, but they kept flashing back. So I’d relax and then it wasn’t true at all.’
She also shared how her son has been dealing with fame and explained, ‘he just sort of owns it, which isn’t thanks to either of us.
‘I’m biased because I’m his mum, but he doesn’t need any guidance.’
!['Of course it was a bit bizarre, but being married to an actor [Alessandro Nivola], we've all had to watch each other do strange things,' Emily said; Sam's parents seen above in 2021 in NYC](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/08/08/04/101026341-14981823-_Of_course_it_was_a_bit_bizarre_but_being_married_to_an_actor_Al-a-72_1754624166895.jpg)
‘Of course it was a bit bizarre, but being married to an actor [Alessandro Nivola], we’ve all had to watch each other do strange things,’ Emily said; Sam’s parents seen above in 2021 in NYC
She also shared how her son has been dealing with fame and explained, ‘he just sort of owns it, which isn’t thanks to either of us’; Sam seen in February in L.A.
During his latest conversation with Variety, Sam – who is dating actress Iris Apatow – talked about being classified as a nepo baby.
While his mother is also known for her roles in projects such as The Newsroom and Shutter Island, his dad has appeared in movies including Mansfield Park (1999), Coco Before Chanel (2009), American Hustle (2013) and The Brutalist (2024).
Despite his famous parents, the actor explained that his success in the industry thus far was due to his own hard work.
‘Other than my genes, I don’t think I can attribute much of my success to my parents. I feel proud that I’ve done it for myself, and sometimes in spite of them,’ Sam said.
When it came to his first movie role – River Of Fundament (2014) – the star said he ‘didn’t get my dad’s agent to call up so-and-so. I did it by myself.
‘Other than my genes, I don’t think I can attribute much of my success to my parents. I feel proud that I’ve done it for myself, and sometimes in spite of them,’ Sam said; seen with Nicole Kidman in The Perfect Couple (2024)
‘I didn’t want to give anyone an excuse to be able to say that anything I’ve achieved has been because of anyone other than me. And I’m proud of that.’
Sam has a number of upcoming projects up his sleeves, including the comedic film titled Driver’s Ed.
The premise is: ‘A group of teens who steal their school’s driver’s ed car to go on a road trip to help a high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back,’ per IMDB.
Along with Sam, other stars that have been cast in the upcoming movie are Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani and Ella Stiller.
