Patrick Schwarzenegger stepped into his biggest role to date when he was cast as Saxton Ratliff, the product of ridiculously wealthy parents who traveled to Thailand for their daughter’s thesis in season 3 of “White Lotus.” And while he believes he “manifested” what was his “dream goal,” there are plenty who have claimed he got the role due to nepotism alone.
“I know there are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is,” he said in an interview with The Times. “They’re not seeing that I’ve had 10 years of acting classes, put on [high] school plays every week, worked on my characters for hours on end or the hundreds of rejected auditions I’ve been on.”
“Of course, it’s frustrating and you can get boxed in and you think at that moment, I wish I didn’t have my last name. But that’s a small moment. I would never trade my life with anyone. I’m very fortunate to have the life and family that I have, the parents I have and the lessons and values they’ve instilled in me,” Schwarzenegger added.
The actor, whose father is Arnold Schwarzenegger and mother is Maria Shriver, was born and raised in LA, where he still lives. He started taking acting classes in high school and has also worked as a model, has invested in beverage companies, and he and Shriver started the snack company Mosh (which donates money to Alzheimer’s research) in 2020.
“My dad was always a believer that you don’t need to fit into one box, that there are ways to let various worlds collide,” he told the outlet. “His advice is always on the side of working hard and vision and career. My mom is deeper with her advice, setting values of respect and kindness and manners, and always finding ways to give back.”
Auditioning for Saxton was a dream realized. “I thought, there’s no way I’m going to get this, everybody is up for this,” Schwarzenegger said. “I’ve been a massive fan of the show since day one. It was my dream goal, I think I manifested it.”
Schwarzenegger’s TV family is headed by “Harry Potter” star Jason Isaacs (“who is this ball of energy that cannot sleep and cannot not move”) and Parker Posey.
“It’ll be 2am and he’ll text me, ‘Do you want to play tennis?’ I’ll see him in the morning and say, ‘Dude, what is wrong with you? I was sleeping.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, I didn’t sleep.’ It’s insane,” he added of Isaacs.
You can read the interview with Patrick Schwarzenegger at The Times.
