Natasha Rothwell Had Her 'Passport Ready' for White Lotus Season 3 After Just 2 Conversations with Mike White (Exclusive)

There wasn't much of a conversation between Mike White and Natasha Rothwell about season 3 of The White Lotus — all she knew was she was saying "yes" no matter what.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I got to do twice," Rothwell, 44, tells PEOPLE of reprising her role as spa manager Belinda in the highly-anticipated third installment of the cult favorite series.
"I feel really lucky."

Rothwell, who was in season 1 of the HBO series but not season 2, says she "was floored" when she learned that White was thinking of asking her back.

"It happened in two parts. Mike and I had dinner when he was in town for the Emmys. He just casually mentioned it. He's like, 'I'm thinking about Belinda for season 3,'" she recalls.

"I told him, 'Say less, I'll come in, and just be background, whatever you want me to do.'"

At that point, he was still filming the second season in Sicily. "After he wrapped and got out of the edit, he hit me up again. He was like, 'Now, Belinda's back.'"

"I was just like, "Yeah, let me get my passport ready." I don't know where we're going, but I'm there," she recalls.

Rothwell says she's "excited for the world to get to know more about Belinda" in the upcoming season. "It's really cool."

The two experiences of filming season 1 and season 3 also "couldn't be more different," she says.

"We shot the first one during COVID — pre-vaccination. We couldn't even leave the resort. Cut to season 3, I think we moved four times to different [resorts]," she shares.

"When people watch The White Lotus this season, it's a compilation of a bunch of amazing places we stayed," Rothwell continues. "It's just more expansive. It's really cool to see the show grow in that way.

The actress previously told PEOPLE that settling back into the role was a little bit of a challenge at first, but she got back into the swing of things thanks to advice from one of her costars.

"Carrie Coon gave me the best descriptor. She's like, 'It's like putting on a wet bathing suit.' You know it fits. You know it fits. And you know, once you get in the water, it's going to feel wonderful. But it's also just a little… You're just like, 'Wait a minute, does the arm go here? Okay.' And then you jump in."

She also admitted to having "imposter syndrome" in the lead-up to "sharing the screen" with some of her costars. "These are people that I idolized growing up."

"Carrie was actually the one who brought me back to Earth, because she was just like, 'We're all nervous to meet you because you were season one. You're, like, the OG.'"

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Season 3 of The White Lotus premieres Sunday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET on Max.