Interview by Dominik Schütte
Photography by Doug Inglish
Styling by Avoyer Magyan
Being a nepo baby is not always easy — not even when your mum is a KENNEDY and your dad is so famous that the world knows him by his first name. PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER knows just how wide the shadow of his father, ARNOLD, stretches — but the 31-year-old is intent on making his own way in the family business, and — judging by his star-making role in the cult series The White Lotus — he is making a pretty good run at it too.
When Patrick Schwarzenegger enters a room, energy comes through the door with him. He hugs each member of the team, slips into every look without complaining, and walks around shirtless. Patrick is incredibly open, talking non-stop during meals (even with a full mouth), and clearly has stories to tell — and can’t wait for the world to listen. His smile is broad and a little angular — so very Schwarzenegger. He’s the kind of guy where the sun seemed to laugh along with him.
ESQ: Patrick, in Hollywood, on the streets, and even here on set — the fear from LA’s recently devastating wildfires is still lingering. Did everyone in the Schwarzenegger clan get through it okay?
PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER: Luckily, yes. It was intense. My fiancée, Abby, and I live in Santa Monica and had to evacuate. My dad also had to leave his house. He packed up all his animals and hit the road. In the end, thankfully, everyone was safe.
ESQ: Were you able to reach your dad? Reportedly, he doesn’t own a phone.
PATRICK: That’s true — my dad doesn’t use a smartphone. But he has this huge iPad, so I always reach him via video call.
ESQ: We saw you both at the world premiere of the new season of The White Lotus. When you stepped off the plane in Thailand, knowing you were part of this now iconic series — that must have been a big moment for a young actor.
PATRICK: Definitely. Every step before that was already so exciting — from the audition to the table reads with Mike White (the director and mastermind behind the show). Then everything happened super fast. Suddenly it was like, “Okay, we’re starting in four weeks!” I’d be living in Thailand for over six months, on this island, Ko Samui, I had never even heard of. I had no idea what to expect. When I arrived, some of the cast was already there. The whole hotel was buzzing with people working on this project. Such a surreal experience.
ESQ: So you didn’t know anyone?
PATRICK: I only knew my on-screen mum Parker Posey because we had worked together on The Staircase. Oh, and one of the cameramen.
ESQ: Not even your on-screen brother? In the very first episode, you guys are already very candid with each other…
PATRICK: Nope — we literally met at breakfast.
ESQ: It has to be a challenge, y’know, being Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son. People carry assumptions and expectations.
PATRICK: Challenge isn’t even the right word — it’s honestly nerve-wracking. Even if I forget where I come from, the first day on set is always this mix of total nerves and positive excitement. That first moment someone yells “Action!” — it never loses its magic for me.
ESQ: The Staircase was an important milestone: a high-caliber cast, an interesting role. Was it the case that, suddenly, you weren’t just Arnold’s son anymore?
PATRICK: Yeah, it was a huge step for me.
ESQ: Personally, I was impressed by your role in Gen V, the The Boys spin-off. Your role is some sort of the great hope of a new superhero generation — all eyes on you — and then, boom, you explode like a firework at the university by the end of episode one. Blood and guts everywhere. Dream over. There’s this unavoidable meta-layer — the enormous pressure, the high expectations…
PATRICK: During COVID, I spent a lot of time thinking about my career. I told myself I wanted to work with interesting filmmakers and just learn. I didn’t care if the role was small, a day, a week, or six months — I just wanted the experience. Then the Gen V script landed in my inbox. I still remember the audition. The team said, “You’re the star of the show. Everyone’s supposed to love you. You’re the face of a new generation of superheroes. A great guy — and then we kill you!” It was a total shock moment.
With The Boys, I loved it. Though people still come up to me and say how sad they were about it.
ESQ: I once interviewed Sylvester Stallone — who is basically allergic to death. His characters never die! “I refuse to. I don’t want to die!” he told me. Your dad is pretty much the same. He always survives.
PATRICK: Yeah, it’s been very different for me so far. In The Terminal List, I also die at the end of episode one. I had a lot of messages from people hoping I wouldn’t die in The White Lotus too! I could only say, “Wait and see.” That’s the cool thing about the show — you never know!
ESQ: Your fiancée is a successful model. You’ve been together for ten years. Then suddenly you were away for six months. How did you handle that?
PATRICK: It wasn’t easy. Abby works a lot — especially in New York and Europe. Thailand’s totally off the grid. It’s 23 hours from L.A. — you can’t just hop on a plane. But she came to visit twice. It was great — especially for her. She was on vacation, chilling at the Four Seasons. Meanwhile I was like: work hard, play hard.
ESQ: No spoilers, but the relationship between the two brothers is central this season: two very different guys, two very different types of masculinity. How did you approach that theme?
PATRICK: The character work was super interesting. My character Saxon is…
ESQ: …Saxon — one hell of a name!
PATRICK: Haha, yeah the name says it all. Saxon thinks he knows everything. From his perspective, he wants to help his little brother. He wants him to “man up,” to… but I can’t give too much away.
ESQ: Let’s keep it meta: He wants to dominate him with toxic ideas of masculinity.
PATRICK: Exactly. But he genuinely believes he’s a positive influence. He thinks his brother should toughen up, hit the gym, and think about women, money, success, and freedom — everything he sees as part of being a real man.
ESQ: You clearly trained for the role. In some scenes, you look like a young Arnold. You even wear sunglasses that scream The Terminator. Your brother, on the other hand, is the opposite.
PATRICK: Sam Nivola, who plays Lochlan, is physically totally different — totally different build. It’s a striking contrast: one is the alpha male, thinks he’s got life figured out, works for his dad in finance, closing deals even on detox vacation, still popping Ritalin, chugging protein, and constantly hitting on people.
The other is completely lost, unsure about his identity, his spirituality, doesn’t know if he’s into women. Over time, we watch them both grow — and kind of switch roles. That brother dynamic is so fascinating.
ESQ: You have a brother and a half-brother — were you able to bring your own experiences in?
PATRICK: For sure! The bickering, the teasing, all that family dynamic — it’s like a totem pole. Who’s the stronger one? Who’s the weaker one? How much responsibility do your parents give you? Mike [White], the showrunner, encouraged me to bring in personal experiences. Still, I’m fundamentally different from Saxon, and that family in the show has nothing to do with my real one.
ESQ: How do you deal with aggressive masculinity, especially on social media?
PATRICK: Thankfully, I can deal with it very easily — I guess it’s just my nature. Some people are more sensitive. I see stuff, I read some negativity. Does it make me happy? No. Do I think about it all the time? Also no.
ESQ: Is it getting worse, as times get rougher?
PATRICK: Yeah, I think it’s going to get harder the further my career progresses. But I don’t want to ignore how positive the feedback often is. I got a tonne of kind messages after Gen V. Others said, “Why didn’t you bulk up? You’re wasting your genetics!”
ESQ: “You’re wasting your genetics” — brutal.
PATRICK: Yeah, thankfully I’ve got some distance from that. The more you put yourself out there, the more criticism you receive — but hopefully more praise too. We’ll see how that changes now.
ESQ: The White Lotus is huge in the U.S. A total cult hit.
PATRICK: Yeah, it’s cool.
ESQ: If criticism gets too tough, you’ve surely got a good support system. People you love and who love you.
PATRICK: My family, my fiancée Abby, my best friends. That’s what really matters.
ESQ: How many roles have you been offered that your dad once played?
PATRICK: Not a single one.
ESQ: Seriously?
PATRICK: Nope. Nothing.
ESQ: Crazy. I guess not many of his films have been remade yet. I think they’re currently shooting Running Man with Glen Powell. Could be cool.
PATRICK: Yeah, totally.
ESQ: Are you hesitant to step into Arnold’s shoes?
PATRICK: So far, I’ve wanted to carve my own path, make my own choices. But now? I could imagine working with my dad.
ESQ: If a producer came to you and said: Patrick, I want you to be the new Terminator — what would you say?
PATRICK: I’d say ‘yes’. I had to stand on my own two feet first — and I did. I’m ready to play the Terminator. With, or without, my dad.
