Arnas Fedaravicius, 'White Lotus's' Hot Wellness Instructor, Is Getting Much Gay Love

One of the breakout stars of this season's "The White Lotus" is Lithuanian actor and producer Arnas Fedaravicius, who plays Valentin, the hot wellness instructor who becomes embroiled in the fractious relationship with three not-so-best gal pals by sleeping with one of them.

On the first episode, the trio, Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan), a famous television actress, Kate (Leslie Bibb), the attractive wife of a wealthy, conservative Texan, and Laurie (Carrie Coon), a divorced New York lawyer, are introduced to shirtless, tattooed hunk, who is described as the wellness instructor everyone asks for at the exclusive Thai resort. So, little wonder that Federavicius is finding himself in demand in real life.

In an interview with the website Club Ciné, the 33-year old actor/producer (and former stunt man) opened up about his newfound attention, which includes developing a large gay following. "I've been receiving so much gay love, my DMs are full. I saw someone on Instagram do a smash or pass with five of us [actors]: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tayme Thapthimthong and myself."

He recalls asking Mike White, the show's writer and director, about Valentin. "Mike came up to me and said, "he is likable, like you," so that was a compliment and helped relax me into the role. Now, whether there are other qualities underneath that, you wait to let the writing unravel the complexities, and portray your character the best you can. I was just watching an interview with Michelle Monahan yesterday, and she was defending her character, and I realized I got to a place where, when people ask me to tell them about Valentin, I'm so defensive, because I like him."

But, he admits, "He can be a douchebag. In his mind, he's a single guy spending time with three beautiful women and one of them is like, 'Hey, booty call, do you want to come over?' It's hard for him to say no."

Fedaravicius adds that this isn't Valentin's first time at the rodeo. "While I was preparing, I asked Mike, 'He's done it before, right?' He's seen ladies like these before, done similar things. With new guests, and Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie especially, they're like kids who think that they're the coolest in school and even the teachers haven't seen anyone like them before. When Jaclyn and Laurie twigged that Valentin had said the same thing to both of them about their body fat and their bodies being half their age – he's said these things to many guests before. He must have, because these guests think they're the shit. He's just doing his job."

It took some six months to shoot the series on location in Thailand, and he explains that over that period he formed relationships with some of his fellow cast members. "I developed different personal connections with people, based on mutual interests. For example, Carrie Coon and I exchanged books. She gave me a list of her favorite books, and one she recommended me was the 1965 novel 'Stoner' by the American author John Williams – our friendship was based around books. Walton Goggins is a phenomenal man. John Gries was was super warm. Patrick Schwarzenegger, Nicholas Duvernay, and I have a group chat called 'Protein Pack,' and Patrick's nickname was 'protein Pat.' When we're in town together we try to work out together. I've made great friends, who have taught me a lot about myself, about human interactions, and, along the way, shared some great stories about what to expect from life in this career."

Asked to describe the final episode, which aired on April 6, Fedaravicius described it in three words: "Unexpected. Explosive. Loving."

Before coming aboard "The White Lotus," Club Ciné notes, he "played Sihtric in four seasons of Netflix's 'The Last Kingdom' and its feature-length conclusion, 'The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die.' Up next, Arnas will star alongside Jason Statham in 'Mutiny,' set for release next year."

As for Fedaravicius's personal life, according to the Grazia Magazine website, "Arnas is dating Shadowhunters actress Emeraude Toubia. While it remains unclear exactly when they started going out and how they met, the couple first posted with one another on Instagram in late 2023, after Emeraude announced her plans to divorce Prince Royce in March 2022."

Check out these pics from his Instagram: