'The White Lotus's Gaitok Is Seriously Jacked IRL
Security at The White Lotus in Thailand is in good hands—well, sort of. Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) may seem a bit too timid—if not wimpy—for his security officer position on the island, but don't let that fool you. Gaitok is completely jacked IRL. And—spoiler alert!—he does prove everyone wrong at the end of Season 3. Tayme has shown off his buff physique on social media, much to the delight of his fans. He also spilled exactly how he stays in incredible shape.
Mike White Told Tayme Thapthimthong To Pause His Workouts Because He Was Too Ripped
Creator of The White Lotus, Mike White, apparently told Tayme to chill on his reps.
In an interview with USA Today, Tayme said, "Mike White told me not to go to the gym anymore. He said to maintain what I had, but please don't get any bigger or more ripped. I was staying at these amazing hotels with these great gyms I couldn't use. But I did what he asked and didn't really work out for seven months."
The actor also told GQ, "My character is a security guard, so there is a little toughness to him. But because of some events that happen, and the other characters that are supposed to be more tough guys than my character is."
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He Performs Military-Style Training
How did a sleeve-busting actor like Tayme calm down the muscle building for The White Lotus filming? Well, Mike White told him a little something like this: "Please don't get too buff or anything. Just maintain what you have right now" (via GQ).
Tayme added, "I never really go to the gym to get that big anyway. I've always enjoyed calisthenics and more boot camp, military-style training, where it's more for functional fitness, rather than just to bulk up."
He Runs
Running toward the sound of gun shots during the White Lotus finale? No problem! Tayme is actually a runner in real life.
"When I was in England, because I was doing a lot of military training, I would mostly run outside," he told GQ. "I was only a member at the gym for a little while when I just wanted to bulk up. But after that, I just went straight to bootcamp training. I had to train by myself. I'd just run along the river. I lived in a place called Barnes, and it's quite near the River Thames. There's a little bridge called Hammersmith Bridge there, and I would just go down to the riverbank and run all the way to Putney Bridge and back, or sometimes go a little further."
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He Does Bodyweight Training
Tayme enjoys exercising outdoors. He told GQ that he opts to do bodyweight exercises in the fresh air.
"I would just do a lot of body weight training, push-ups, pull-ups, stuff like that," the actor shared. "They had little public parks where they had pull-up bars. That's all I really needed, because at the time I knew that that's all the stuff that was in the military fitness test. I didn't really benefit so much from bicep curls, or Olympic lifting, or anything like that. That came later."
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He Swordfights
One super fun fact about Tayme? He's trained in traditional Thai swordfighting. He shared this set of photos on Instagram of himself and his teacher wielding swords, captioning the post, "Such an honor to be trained in traditional Thai Swordfighting by the one and only Tony Jaa!!"
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He Eats a Healthy Diet
Although he doesn't cook, Tayme maintains a healthy diet full of protein.
"I don't cook at all, really, because it's so convenient to just get a hold of any healthy kind of normal food," he shared. "I have a lot of garlic chicken with rice, which is straight up just chicken, stir-fried with garlic and a bit of soy sauce, and then put it on top of rice. I'll add two boiled eggs or two fried eggs. I'm pretty easy with eating. I wouldn't say I'm a foodie where I have to go and hunt for the next interesting thing to eat. I'm pretty happy with eating the same things every day."
