Aimee Lou Wood from ‘The White Lotus’ Prefers to Avoid Discussing Her Teeth

The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood is ready to move on from the focus on her distinctive smile.

“It’s cool, but I’m over talking about it. Can we discuss my character instead? Why am I constantly discussing my teeth?” Wood, 31, expressed in an interview with The Sunday Times published on Saturday, April 5. “At this point, I feel like I’m just a set of front teeth.”

During her conversation with the publication, Wood contemplated the attention on her smile as well as the full-frontal scene with her costar Jason Isaac. (Earlier in the series, Isaac’s character revealed himself with a prosthetic.)

“I see what it symbolizes. People gain confidence from their flaws. It’s strange how the very thing I was teased for has become the thing everyone’s celebrating,” she remarked about her smile. “Yet it still feels like the primary thing defining me.”

Wood, who portrays Chelsea in the third season of The White Lotus, has openly discussed her teeth over the years.

“I’d always feel incredibly self-assured during theater auditions, but with television auditions, I’d often be surprised to get a callback,” she shared with Stylist in 2020. “I sometimes thought, ‘Oh, maybe I have a shot with a Channel 4 project.’ Then Sex Education came along, and I thought, ‘Everyone on Netflix has those perfect Hollywood smiles.’”

Reflecting on her career, Wood mentioned to On Demand Entertainment in February that portraying an American on television was unexpected.

“It’s all about the teeth. Americans don’t have my dental situation,” she remarked. “I’d need to get veneers for that. It really is a key factor. [After playing an American in a play], a guy approached me at the bar and said … I spoke to him, and he went, ‘I knew it. I knew it.’ Because, although he praised my accent, he could tell I wasn’t American. I simply don’t have the American look.”

The discussion around her teeth has come full circle for Wood, who recalled being “bullied” about her smile in her youth.

In an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, Wood expressed her appreciation for the support she has received regarding her smile, stating, “It feels wonderful. A true full-circle moment considering I was bullied for my teeth for so long. Now I’m receiving applause in front of an audience.”

Wood emphasized that she “can’t believe the effect” her appearance has had on fans and hopes they don’t feel compelled to mimic her smile at the dentist. She cautioned against fans attempting to “file their teeth to create gaps.”

The White Lotus season 3 finale airs on HBO Sunday, April 6, at 9 p.m. ET.