Patrick and Arnold Schwarzenegger: A Father-Son Conversation on Acting, Legacy, and the Power of Perseverance

Two generations of Schwarzenegger sit down for a candid and fascinating discussion about “The White Lotus,” typecasting, family legacy, and the lessons they’ve learned on their own unique paths.

The rise of one of this season’s greatest scene-stealers poses a fascinating question: how much of our path is ours, and how much comes from the world we’re born into? Patrick Schwarzenegger, known for roles in “The Staircase” and “Scream Queens,” is carving out his own identity in Hollywood—very different from that of his father, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the blockbuster icon whose resume includes “True Lies,” “Twins,” “Terminator,” and more.

While Arnold is back on screen this year with “FUBAR” and a voice role in “Secret Level,” Patrick’s turn as the raunchy-yet-tragic Saxon Ratliff in Mike White’s “The White Lotus” marks a clear departure from the classic Arnold action hero mold. In a recent conversation for Variety, father and son sat down to reflect on acting, family name baggage, their personal journeys, and how they’ve supported each other along the way.

Interview Highlights:
Arnold Schwarzenegger: A year ago, Variety would’ve never asked us to sit here and have this discussion. But now you came out with “The White Lotus,” [and] you went through the roof. Your acting surprised the hell out of me. I didn’t recognize you. I was blown away. How do you feel about this great success?

Patrick Schwarzenegger: Well, thank you. This is a surreal moment for me, because as much as we get to talk, we would never have a 45-minute conversation about acting. One of the best parts about being on the show is the amount of people that get to recognize [my] work; I’ve done so many shows that not so many people have seen.

Arnold: Now everyone is coming up to me in the gym and saying, “Your son is fantastic.” Someone else comes up to me and says, “I hated your son in the series.”

Patrick: That was the weird part.

Arnold: Hated him? What kind of a compliment is that? They said, “He was fantastic, but the character he played was so believable.”

Patrick: The biggest learning experience is how much people associate you with your character. I don’t know how much that happened to you over the course of your career — maybe with “The Terminator.” The first weeks, people came up to me and told me how much they hated me. By the end of it, they came up to me saying how much they felt bad for me. It was a roller coaster.

Arnold: I read an Austrian magazine — they had a big cover story on you and how great you are. One of the quotes was how difficult it is to get through this because you have the name Schwarzenegger. Explain that to me, because to me, the name Schwarzenegger always meant a big plus. And then all of a sudden you were talking about [how] it can be an obstacle.

Patrick: Yeah…

Arnold: Explain that.

Patrick: I feel it in multiple different ways. Mike White said that it comes with baggage, the idea that when you have successful parents like I do with you and Mom, there’s an added level of what other people think. Mike was worried about, if he cast me, what other people would think. Which they did — they did care about that; people said I got the role because of you and Mom.

There were times earlier in my career where I was wondering, does it make sense to go under an alias? It took a while for me to get to a point where I was less worried about living in your shadow versus wanting to do it the way I thought I should do it.

Arnold: I’m glad you kept the name, because now I can take credit. You joined a very short list of people: You know, Jamie Lee Curtis — I think she’s one of the greatest actors in history. If you show you have the substance, you can get rid of the whole idea of nepotism.

Patrick: I understand how hard you and Mom have worked throughout your life to give me the opportunities that I’ve had. The biggest advice you gave us kids is to work hard. I’ve tried to honor that.

(…and so on, through the rest of the interview)

Throughout their conversation, father and son trade stories about early days on set, the lessons of determination, and the challenge of balancing family legacy with individual identity.

Despite their different paths, both agree on the importance of taking risks, staying grounded, and always chasing the top.