Natasha Rothwell is up for a very well-deserved Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy for her portrayal of Belinda on season three of The White Lotus. She’s been kicking around Hollywood for a decade, most notably starring in Insecure, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, and, of course, The White Lotus. Natasha just did an interview with CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister. They chatted about the show and working with Mike White. Elizabeth also asked Natasha what she did with her first big Hollywood paycheck. Natasha had the most relatable response ever, which was that she used the money to pay off her student loans. She also shared that she basically manifested that paycheck into being.

In a recent interview with CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister, Rothwell explained how she paid off her college loans with that paycheck, but it was what she did before she had the money that was interesting.

“I wrote a check to myself for like $40,000, because that would pay off my student loans, or a portion of it, and I just carried it around with me in my wallet while I was broke, picking up Metrocards in New York, and hoping one of them could get me home,” Rothwell shared.

“And it was just, I was like, ‘One day, I am gonna be able to cash this check and pay off (my loans),” she continued. “And I just remember, when I was on the phone with Sallie Mae and closing out my account, and I had that check in my hand.”

Rothwell noted how emotional the moment was, “because money is emotional.”

“I think especially if you’ve been preoccupied with how you’re going to get it and how you’re going to live, and I had graduated with a theater degree during a recession, so it was scary times and it just took a lot of faith to make sure that that could happen.”

And although she added that it might be “pretty delulu to write a check like that to yourself and put it in your wallet,” Rothwell is a firm believer in the law of attraction.

“I think it, it helps a little bit. A little delulu never hurt nobody!”

[From CNN]

I freaking love Natasha’s story about writing herself the $40K check so much. I need to go and try this trick! It reminds me of that time Jim Carrey wrote himself a $10 million check dated for 10 years in the future, and exactly 10 years later, he landed Dumb and Dumber for 10 million. I’m also a huge fan of the law of attraction. I can’t explain it, but in the past, I’ve had long term goals suddenly pay off, almost as though I willed them into being. Manifest that sh-t, baby! Sadly, I’ve kind of lost that mojo since the pandemic. Now, I just wish that I could convince my anxiety to get on board. Between the intensity of my belief in the Universe and my fretfulness over the future… well, if they could cooperate, then I’d be an unstoppable force. Natasha comes across as so relatable here. If I ever made a huge sum of money, I would absolutely use it to pay off debt, too. I’m so happy for her and wish her all of the success in the world. I’m rooting for her to win the Emmy this year.

Here’s Natasha’s full interview. To avoid White Lotus spoilers, I queued it up to start when she’s asked this question, at 8:50.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos credit: Getty and Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon