Equal parts heart and hilarity, whether she’s deftly portraying a character on screen, or navigating the push-pull of motherhood and a prolific acting career, there’s an undeniable force to Morgana O’Reilly. Now, a new chapter is dawning as she steps onto her biggest stage yet — The White Lotus, in a role that feels both like a turning point and natural next step.

When we meet, Morgana O’Reilly is, true to form, in the middle of everything. There’s a TV series just wrapped, another about to begin filming, a stage show-turned-film in post-production, and, of course, the painfully slow (for us, the audience) week-by-week roll-out of the third season of The White Lotus, within which O’Reilly plays a sardonic ‘health butler’ called Pam. But, despite the chaos, she’s characteristically generous with her time, and as hilarious as one would expect.

For O’Reilly, growing up, performance was part of the rhythm of daily life. The daughter of a dancer and a designer, her childhood was anything but conventional, “Mum and Dad were both artists in their own right,” she recalls. “Dad is very ingenious, he’s got a wonderful mind for innovation and is great with words, and Mum is an incredible dancer and choreographer, and famously a founding member of the Limbs Dance Company.” The actress notes that inheriting both her mother’s penchant for performance and her father’s gift of the gab and gregariousness laid the foundations for what would become her lifelong career. “It was always just part of our world to perform, and [my parents] have always been my best audience.”

But beneath the playful side of her upbringing, accompanying her mum at rehearsals, joining in on interpretive dance classes with people decades her senior, and crafting gags at home with her dad, there was a deeper lesson being instilled: creativity as craft; as an act of devotion. “Mum and Dad always made it clear that life wasn’t about sitting around and waiting for things to happen to you.” She tells me that, in a moment of profundity, her father once said to her “Morgan (her parents’ pet name for her), the world never waits. You can be the best at what you do, but if you don’t jump in there and put your hand up and say, ‘It’s my turn,’ then you won’t go anywhere.” She adds, “You don’t realise until you’re older what your childhood meant in the context of everybody else’s, and I was really lucky.”

These strong foundations set O’Reilly on a path that feels predestined. At the age of 13, she enrolled in the Trinity School of Speech and Drama, which she found too regimented (her acting philosophy flies closer to the more intuitive, playful, and visceral side of the craft). Realising this early on, the then-budding performer auditioned for Out Loud Theatre Company, a youth theatre company run through the performing arts school, helmed by Ros Gardner. “If I ever win an Oscar, Ros is who I’ll thank,” laughs O’Reilly. “It was an incredible theatre company of kids who were about 13 to 17, and it was unlike anything I’d experienced before. Opposed to drama at school, where, if you were doing anything slightly risky, everyone would dissolve into fits of laughter, there, everyone was really passionate about the craft, even at such a young age.” 

By the time she reached high school, she was devouring every opportunity to perform. “I was that kid who was always ‘on’ — which I’m sure was a nightmare for my teachers; they definitely thought I was an asshole, but I think deep down they knew I’d turn out OK.” Theatre school followed, “I never missed a single day,” and before long, the screen beckoned.

Now, with a nearly two-decade-long career spanning stage, television, and film, O’Reilly has become one of the most dynamic acting talents to come out of New Zealand. And her latest role in The White Lotus — Mike White’s searing social satire watched by millions the world-over — has thrust her onto the global stage.

The HBO phenomenon’s third season, set against the lush backdrop of paradisical Thailand, is already in full swing, with audiences eagerly dissecting each weekly episode for its signature captivating cocktail of privilege, power, and moral corruption. 

Her character — cool, calculated, and juxtapositionally (in the context of the cast) human — brings a subtle, irreverent edge to a show that thrives on its blend of dark humour and incisive commentary. Though the series is centred on its ensemble of privileged vacationers and the unravelling of their carefully maintained façades, O’Reilly’s contribution to the sprawling narrative is pitch perfect. 

“O’Reilly has become one of the most dynamic acting talents to come out of New Zealand, and her latest role in ‘The White Lotus’ has thrust her onto the global stage.”

Appearing in the show is an experience she describes as both surreal and deeply validating. “The first day in the resort with the other actors was wild. It’s The White Lotus. The calibre of people involved, the level of craft — it’s incredible, and I was definitely nervous on day one.” She continues, “I still remember when the coverage turned around onto me. I remember hearing somebody say, ‘Well, Morgana, it’s your turn,’ (she recites this line in a thick American accent) basically implying that millions of people were going to be watching, and I just had this wonderfully calm feeling of going, that’s fine, baby. I can do this. You’re recording, well fucking watch this. I’m good at this bit. I do crazy shit on stage all the time — this, I can do.”

She credits Mike White’s approach, and the relative freedom he affords his actors to make characters their own, but says that the set-up of filming is unlike anything she’s ever experienced. All of the actors and their families live in the resort (“My family is ruined, we can never go on holiday ever again… nothing will compare.”) — a place of utter opulence made for holiday-makers and relaxation, that becomes their office. But, with White, nothing is unintentional, and the energy that breeds, the controlled chaos, only adds to what each actor brings to the screen, and certainly contributes to the show’s intensity. 

White’s writing balances the absurd with the painfully real, giving audiences a voyeuristic glimpse into lives where wealth cushions, but never truly protects, from the consequences of desire and deception. “He’s a creative genius,” Morgana says simply. “It’s right up my alley, that mix of drama and comedy — that knowing wink to the audience.”

There’s something distinctly her about that statement. She is, in many ways, the perfect fit for White’s universe — an actor who relishes the layers, the contradictions. Her comedic pitch and timing is impeccable, but it’s always underscored by meaning. “I love characters who have layer upon layer,” she says. “I love covering things up to then let them peep out.”

O’Reilly’s ability to slip into different registers — comedic, dramatic, deeply unsettling — has been a hallmark of her career. “I like characters with contradictions,” she explains. “People who say one thing but mean another, or who are trying so hard to hold it together that you can visibly see the cracks.”

“I want to push myself as a writer. I spent years with writer’s block, but I’ve realised you don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to start somewhere.”

Her sweeping portfolio is a testament to this — a body of work characterised by its versatility, from gritty independent films to experimental theatre to mainstream TV. From her first series, the sketch comedy A Thousand Apologies, to her breakout role in Housebound — a horror-comedy cult favourite — to her work on stage (and a travelling stage show that she took to living rooms around the world), to starring in local psychological drama Friends Like Her, and her latest project, Playing Gracie Darling — an Australian drama-thriller series centred on a séance gone wrong, despite the character, context, or medium, O’Reilly has never shied away from complexity. “I think it’s important to honour the messiness of people,” she says.

A philosophy which, while enlivened through her acting, extends beyond it. In Stories About My Body, a solo stage show she both conceived and performed, O’Reilly turned the lens inward, exploring her relationship with her own body with humour, vulnerability, and unfiltered honesty. The show struck a nerve, resonating with audiences across generations. “I made it because it was the show I needed to see,” she says. “I was in my late 30s, post-kids, and my body was changing in ways I hadn’t expected. I just thought — why aren’t we talking about this more?”

Rather than letting the show exist solely in the ephemeral space of live theatre, O’Reilly made the decision to adapt it into a film. “I knew the show had more life in it,” she says, “So we pulled together every favour and raised about $50,000 via crowd-funding — which is nothing in the badlands of film, but it was enough to create something really special. It’s been made possible by the people its content was written for.”

The result is a raw, intimate, and utterly hilarious piece of cinema. “It’s kind of like a stand-up special,” she laughs. “But a theatre special. It has boobs, stories of my time working at foot fetish parties, and ends on one of my birth videos.” She pauses, giggling, and adds, “Don’t worry, everyone is on board at that point so it doesn’t seem as full-on as it sounds.” 

O’Reilly’s approach to body image and self-worth as a whole is refreshingly nuanced. “I would dare say that the changes in society have actually been rather little. I think a big positive change has been social media, and a big negative change has been social media,” she reflects. “If you curate your social media with consciousness, you can have a really empowering and supportive space that doesn’t alienate your body. But obviously the opposite is the reality for a lot of people.” 

“I haven’t had Botox or anything like that, but I try to unpack why I might consider trying to erase lines between my eyebrows — it’s funny that the idea of a thinking woman might be less desirable…”

Her own journey has been about untethering her value from aesthetics. “I try to think about it in terms of adornment versus conformity. Like, am I celebrating myself, or just trying to fit in?” She continues, “I haven’t had Botox or anything like that, but I try to unpack why I might consider trying to erase lines between my eyebrows — it’s funny that the idea of a thinking woman might be less desirable than a thinking man.”

That level of introspection informs how she parents, too. “I want my kids to know that how they feel about themselves shouldn’t be dictated by a mirror,” she says. “I want to, as much as possible, help them to untether the way they look from their self-worth and their success, and know that movement, good food, all of it — is about feeling good, not looking good.”

Family life is central to O’Reilly, though, as she openly admits, juggling the demands of young kids with work is a constant experiment. “Luckily, I didn’t marry a man-child,” she quips, speaking about her Emmy Award-winning TV and Film producer/director husband, Peter Salmon, “I married an incredible man who values fatherhood immensely.” Their dynamic is one of fluidity — trading roles, calling in reinforcements when needed, and accepting that chaos is part of the deal. “We weren’t designed to do this alone,” she says. “It takes a village — sometimes a paid village, but a village nonetheless.”

That perspective has shaped how she approaches career decisions, particularly as her children grow older. “I owe it to them to be present,” she says. “Which means making choices that allow me to be home more.” Still, ambition burns bright. “I want to do more film,” she says. “And I want to push myself as a writer. I spent years with writer’s block, but I’ve realised you don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to start somewhere.”

Her career has long been built on a foundation of versatility and authenticity. O’Reilly has never shied away from challenging roles or from the more nuanced, less glamorous aspects of acting. Even as the spotlight shines on a series as high-profile as The White Lotus, her focus remains on the craft itself rather than fleeting fame. “I’ve always believed that the real work happens when no one is watching,” she remarks, a nod to the quiet dedication that has defined her career. This commitment to her craft has allowed her to remain relevant in an industry notorious for its rapid turnover of talent, proving time and time again that a steady, thoughtful approach can yield results far more enduring than the latest hot ticket.

O’Reilly tells me before our conversation comes to a close that Ira Glass’ line — ‘Good stories happen to those who can tell them,’ is a quote that rattles around in her mind frequently and informs her approach to both work and life. It’s clear that, to her, storytelling isn’t simply a career. It’s a way of moving through the world; making sense of it. Whether she’s standing on a stage, staring down a camera lens, or weaving together a new project from the fragments of an idea, one thing is certain — she was always meant to do this, and I think she always will.

Makeup and Hair: Kiekie Stanners