The second Victoria Ratliff (Parker Posey) appears in The White Lotus season 3—and looks age-gap couple Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and Rick (Walton Goggins) up and down with a rich, I’m-better-than-you scoff—viewers are prompted to sit up in their chairs. The character’s slurred southern drawl makes lines like “We flew over the North Pohl,” “Piper, noo!” and even single words (“Boo-dizz-uhmmm,” “Soo-nah-meee”) sound ridiculous. Her snarky smirk and perpetually out-of-it aura (thanks to a steady stream of Lorazepam to help her through “certain social situations”) have all the can’t-look-away intrigue of a true crime documentary.

Parker’s magnetic performance begs a flurry of questions: What kind of accent is that? Who is that kook? and Where do I know her from? And finding the answers (spoilers ahead) is all part of the fun of watching the HBO hit. To recap, the accent is that of an exasperated affluent white woman from Durham, North Carolina; Victoria is another one of White Lotus creator Mike White’s satirical brain children; and you likely recognize Posey as the irresponsible 20-something in Party Girl, the foul-mouthed mean girl in Dazed and Confused, or the curt powerhouse editor in You’ve Got Mail.

Posey’s Victoria is such a fan favorite so far this season that it’s difficult to imagine her being played by anyone else. Yet, the actress’s indie film résumé of eccentric supporting roles makes her an unexpected (or at least, out-of-the-box) casting choice for the TV streamer. This is where White’s genius lies. Like Jennifer Coolidge before her, Posey was an underrated diva of Hollywood who is entering her second act through The White Lotus.

“There’s something inexplicable about the phenomenon that is this [show]. There really is no methodology. I mean it, truly,” The White Lotus casting director Meredith Tucker tells InStyle. “We’ve not done chemistry reads at all. The couples have never read together; the family members have never read together. It’s a testament to [White’s] writing and directing that these familial or romantic bonds really do come across as so grounded and real.” Of course, cohabitating at the Four Seasons (where the cast films) for months on end certainly encourages bonding.

White, who is the show’s creator, writer, and director, doesn’t have a magic casting formula. Still, the dark comedy has a pattern of rewarding criminally underutilized character actors and fresh up-and-comers with meaty roles that allow them to take center stage. Over three seasons, it’s ushered in a career Renaissance for established talent—think Coolidge, Posey, and Aubrey Plaza—and catapulted rising performers into superstardom—Sydney Sweeney, Meghann Fahy, Leo Woodall, etc. 

This masterful hodgepodge has undoubtedly contributed to the series’ cult following and cultural impact, evidenced not just by viewership data (the season 3 premiere saw a 155 percent increase from the season 1 premiere) but also by online discourse. Casting suggestions have flooded social platforms where fans offer up niche actors from Phill Lewis (A.K.A. The Suite Life of Zach and Cody’s Mr. Moseby) to Allison Williams (the ever-cringey Marnie Michaels in Girls), who would “chew a season of The White Lotus like a pack of gum.”

Meanwhile, lines like “These gays, they’re trying to murder me” have found their rightful place in pop culture history alongside Coolidge’s breathy stammer. In fact, the show’s many hall-of-fame-worthy one-liners are part of what made Posey so excited to join the anthology series: “I was hoping to deliver meme-able lines,” she said of taking on the role of Victoria. And deliver she has with gems like, “I thought I was gonna have a grand mal seizure.”

The guests of The White Lotus are infectious, often insufferable, and delightfully watchable. They leave viewers unsure how to feel but unable to look away. No line is wasted, no character fades into the background, and every relationship comes across with conviction. There’s also an undeniable connection among the actors who join the dysfunctional dramedy despite their lack of chemistry reads.

Natasha Rothwell, who plays masseuse Belinda, praised White for having the casting “Midas touch,” adding that the bonds she has made from seasons 1 to 3 are “legit.” Patrick Schwarzenegger, who plays Thailand’s detestable “southern bro flirt” Saxon Ratliff, told InStyle how close he has become with his TV family (played by Posey, Jason Isaacs, Sam Nivola, and Sarah Catherine Hook): “It got to the point where Mike was like, ‘You guys hang out every single day. You don’t have to do that.’ I was like, ‘I know, but I like it.'”

At this point, joining The White Lotus universe is a bucket list item for any working actor. Michelle Monaghan, who plays Erewhon tote-carrying actress Jaclyn Lemon, calls White a “unicorn,” gushing to InStyle, “He casts what seems like a bunch of random actors, who are all talented, but you put them in a room, and he’s just got the secret sauce…getting to see everyone’s performance is a true joy.”

So, how did White and casting director Meredith Tucker strike gold three times? How do they assemble an unforgettable ensemble? As Tucker puts it, finding the right people is often a matter of, well, vibes.

An eccentric mix of established and new faces has become a signature of the show, but according to Tucker, it’s never planned. They look for resemblances when casting relatives, of course (Tucker remembers White gleefully commenting, “Look at these people. They really look like they’re family members” in reference to Steve Zahn, Fred Hechinger, and Sweeney), but overall, their choices come down to two questions: Who’s best for the part? And do they fit within the ensemble?

Sometimes White writes parts with specific actors in mind, as was the case for Coolidge (who plays emotionally unstable heiress Tanya McQuoid in seasons 1 and 2) and Plaza (who plays season 2’s sarcastic skeptic Harper Spiller). However, in general, he’s open to possibilities. His process begins by giving Tucker “rough outlines” of what he’s looking for; from there, they create lists of potential actors.

“Sometimes people are completely new to you,” Tucker says, “and then sometimes it’s the first person at the top of the list.” No matter what, though, every actor reads for the show. When the role of Daphne Sullivan, a PDA-loving finance wife, came up for season 2, Tucker put Fahy (who they almost cast in season 1) in the top spot of her dream cast list. Tom Hollander and Murray Bartlett were similarly Tucker’s first choice for the roles of the nefarious English socialite Quentin and substance-abusing hotel manager Armond, respectively. Once they auditioned, White loved them, too.

“He needs to hear the dialogue out loud. It helps form the performances—he knows what he’s getting,” Tucker says, adding that White isn’t just assigning a role. He’s picking a collaborator for his artistic vision. “Also, it allows him, once he does cast someone, to shape the characters around [them]. He seems particularly skilled at letting the actor bring their individuality but also shaping it in a way that he wants.”

Tucker points to Wood (whose audition brought her to tears) as a prime example. White initially imagined the charming, astrology-obsessed Chelsea as an American, and they had the English actress read in both accents. “We said, ‘Oh, the British really does make more sense with her here,’” Tucker remembers. “Because one thing we really needed with that character is incredible warmth, and you really need to like her.”

In fact, casting informs character quite often. Bringing on Will Sharpe, who is of Japanese descent, to play cagey tech nerd Ethan Spiller introduced an interesting dynamic to the friendship with white-privileged finance dude Cameron Sullivan (played by Theo James). “A lot of the time, the parts are not specifically written to be a specific person of color. The Will Sharp character that was open,” Tucker says. “After we cast Will, and because Aubrey is Latina, [White] added that line about, ‘The white-passing friends,’ which had not been in the original.”

Not that Sharpe and Plaza would’ve known that going in, considering White keeps his scripts under lock and key for the sake of security. Neither actors nor agents are given the pages until they step on set; instead, they receive a few sample scenes along with a one-line character description to audition. “They don’t read the scripts before they sign on in general. That’s a little daunting. And, some of the storylines get a little nuts,” Tucker says. “All actors are taking a little bit of a jump-off-the-cliff with any television show. This is just a little bit steeper, higher cliff to jump off of.”

Some arcs are a surprise even for Tucker, who had almost completely cast season 1 before she found out about Armond’s tragic end. She’s also kept in the dark about who White has in mind to return. (Sorry, reader.) “[White] is very intuitive and can figure out what certain colors he needs from the actors that I might not be aware of.”

Dynamically written characters are exactly what makes actors want to take the jump—even if they don’t know where they might end up. Approximately 1,500 actors taped for season 3, and that’s not including the Thailand-based casting. As Wood puts it, these juicy roles are “an actor’s dream.”

“Sometimes they can be a villain. Murray’s character [Armond in season 1] really was. He was harassing his employee and stealing people’s pharmaceuticals, and yet you really root for him in a way that, on paper, sounds crazy,” Tucker says. “Theo’s character [Cameron in season 2]. The guy’s kind of despicable, but Theo was able to imbue him with enough humanity that you saw he was a full human.”

The bottom line? “You have to be a very good actor to be on The White Lotus,” Tucker says. And White casts (pun intended) a wide net to find them, including overseas, which is how New Zealand’s Morgana O’Reilly (who plays secret-hater hotel staffer Pam in season 3) and Germany’s Christian Friedel (who plays aspiring performer/hotel manager Fabien in season 3) entered The White Lotus orbit. They also have a casting director based in each location, as the showrunners like to work directly with locals. In Hawaii, they tapped Katie Doyle; in Italy, Francesco Vedovati; and in Thailand, Non Jungmeier (you can thank him for Lisa’s acting debut).

Wherever in the world he is looking, White has a knack for finding untapped talent. But he seems to be on the hunt for something else, too: quirks. The show celebrates kooky personas, authentic accents, and little imperfections, not just because White has them himself (just watch him sip Merlot while digging through the sand on Survivor for proof), but because real people have personality.

Each season, White breaks down the veneer of seemingly picturesque lives full of immense privilege, wealth, and luxury to expose people with real vulnerabilities, problems, desires, and questions. Casting actors with strikingly unique features and off-kilter charisma—Wood’s teeth, which warranted their own line in episode 1; Goggins’ ranginess and cartoonishly spiky hair; Zahn’s bug eyes and unending look of confusion—adds a sense of charm and believability.

Only time will tell what idiosyncratic diamonds he and Tucker mine for season 4.