{"id":674056,"date":"2025-06-09T19:15:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/patrick-schwarzenegger-is-done-playing-douches\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T19:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:15:17","slug":"patrick-schwarzenegger-is-done-playing-douches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/patrick-schwarzenegger-is-done-playing-douches\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrick Schwarzenegger Is Done Playing Douches"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n\tPatrick Schwarzenegger can\u2019t believe he\u2019s still talking about The White Lotus <\/em>two months after the HBO hit concluded \u2014 and yet, there are very few subjects that he enjoys discussing more.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Mike White creation has fundamentally altered his career, after all; and while the process of filming was, at times, grueling, it was easily one of the most transformative experiences of his life. It is for those reasons that Schwarzenegger has travel<\/a>ed from country to country to country promoting the anthology series<\/a>, on which he plays Saxon Ratliff, a Duke-educated finance douche vacationing at White Lotus\u2019 Thailand outpost with his family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAs Emmy voting nears, the actor previously known for his roles on The Staircase <\/em>and Gen V<\/em> hopped on yet another Zoom to talk about simultaneously benefiting from and overcoming his very-recognizable last name, the morsels of wisdom he picked up from his co-stars and why the producers of White Lotus <\/em>were initially petrified that he\u2019d drop out of the show.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou have an annual meeting with your agents, where you list your goals for the year. Am I correct that The White Lotus<\/em> had been on that list?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt was the No. 1 project that I wanted to do! The meeting is a mix of me saying the types of roles that I want to get and the other actors\u2019 careers that I look up to right now that are within the same age range. And then they\u2019re also telling me, because they\u2019re in all of these staff meetings, like, \u201cHey, this is what the next six months look like \u2014 these are projects that are active and these are the ones that six months out.\u201d Then there\u2019s also the other side of it, which I\u2019m hopefully going to get into way more, which is, \u201cThese are some up-and-coming writers, you should read some of their material and you can maybe look at developing if there\u2019s something in that world that you really like or if there\u2019s a piece of IP or a book or magazine article.\u201d So, it\u2019s a mix of different things but last year, White Lotus<\/em> was on top. I was a huge fan of the first two seasons and when they told me there\u2019d be a third, I was like, \u201cOh my God, we have to find a role in that.\u201d And then when the audition came, it was a dream be true.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat did you think the experience and its impact would be, and how did that compare to the reality?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYou have assumptions of what it\u2019s going to be like and then it\u2019s just completely different than what you think. I had dinner with Leo Woodall [who was in season two] the week before I left to go and film. We were both in Milan for a fashion thing and he was like, \u201cMate, are you ready for your life to change?\u201d And I was like, \u201cYeah, yeah, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYou didn\u2019t believe him?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tNo. And he was like, \u201cI\u2019m serious.\u201d I mean, I knew it was a big show, but you don\u2019t realize the magnitude of one, how many people watch it, and two, the kind of cultural zeitgeisty moment and fandom. And the fact that it\u2019s eight weeks and people look forward to it every week, and there\u2019s this ongoing conversation about what\u2019s going to happ<\/a>en and who did this or that. It was just way more intense than I ever thought it would be. So, that was one main difference. And then just the experience of being out there, working and living together for seven months, it\u2019s almost like theater camp. It\u2019s a blurred line of work and pleasure, but also kind of art imitating life.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are two things that came up in our cover story about your audition process. The first was producer Dave Bernad saying, \u201cPatrick Schwarzenegger\u2019s last name worked against him, by the way. We didn\u2019t want to cast him because of that. He was just so good.\u201d I\u2019m curious how aware you were of that, and how often it\u2019s happened before this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I don\u2019t know to what extent it\u2019s happened before because I\u2019m not in the producer\u2019s chair or the casting director\u2019s chair. I do think there\u2019s two sides. You could argue I may never even have been in this position without my last name and that it\u2019s a blessing and I\u2019m very fortunate for the life that I\u2019ve been given and so I try to continuously grow with that and find ways to better myself and to get better as an actor. And then there\u2019s the other side, which is what Dave was saying, and I get it from his side. I get it from Mike\u2019s side because as I got to know Mike better, I could see that he doesn\u2019t want distractions.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe felt similarly about having Lisa from Blackpink on the show initially.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, he wants to go out there and build his masterpiece, and this is his baby. He spends his whole year before writing and scouting and then he goes and directs for almost a year and then he edits for another six months, so he doesn\u2019t want to be on a press tour getting asked about my last name. It\u2019s his work. So, I get all of that and I appreciate Dave and Mike going to bat for me or looking beyond that and letting me have a chance to prove myself.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe other thing that Bernad said was that when the scripts were sent to you, he and Mike were both very panicked about you dropping out. Were you aware of their anxiety, and was it justified?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tDave and Mike told me that after, like, two months on set. Dave was like, \u201cOh dude, you have no idea how nervous Mike was that you were going to drop out of the project, and he had me texting you.\u201d I was like, \u201cDude, one, in what world do you think that I would\u2019ve dropped out of White Lotus<\/em>? And two, I think every actor kind of expects that there\u2019s some crazy shit that\u2019s going to happen on this show.\u201d And he was like, \u201cNo, I know, but obviously this [the boat scene with his brother] was crazy.\u201d But I remember when I got the scripts on day one, Dave texted me, \u201cMaking sure you got the scripts.\u201d And I was like, \u201cYeah, man, going to get into it. Can\u2019t wait.\u201d Two days later, he\u2019s like, \u201cHey, man, so how\u2019d you like the scripts?\u201d And I was like, \u201cYou sent me 600 pages. I\u2019m about halfway through.\u201d He was like, \u201cOh, has it gotten crazy yet?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah, it\u2019s starting to get really crazy. Ha.\u201d And then he was like, \u201cOK, haha, let me know.\u201d Then, literally a few hours later, he\u2019s like, \u201cYo, did you read the rest of it?\u201d And I was like, \u201cDude, chill. Give me a second. I\u2019m trying to get through them, but I can\u2019t just breeze through. I\u2019m learning about who my character is.\u201d And then the next day, again, he texted me and by then, finally, I had read it. And I was like, \u201cDude, it gets crazy.\u201d And he was like, \u201cI know right?\u201d And I said, \u201cYeah, it gets insane. It\u2019s hilarious and this thing and this thing\u2026.\u201d After that, he never brought up anything else, and I assume it was just because then I went and did my deal. But it never crossed my mind that I would drop out.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo, their anxiety wasn\u2019t justified.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tNo. I think you have to understand when you do this as a profession that you could get called in to do all sorts of things, whether it\u2019s portraying a Ted Bundy type or it\u2019s doing a character like this where you have this experience with your brother on the boat or it\u2019s going and doing an action thing and you\u2019re doing stunts. That\u2019s the fun of being an actor, we get to play different types of people and different types of roles. So, of course this is boundary-pushing, you\u2019re right at the envelope there, but you trust Mike with his vision.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs we know, Mike doesn\u2019t love to supply a lot of backstory for his characters \u2014 he\u2019s also not precious about what his actors bring to their parts. So, what pieces of Saxon and his backstory did you bring?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI worked on a backstory with Sam [Nivola, who plays his brother] and Sarah Catherine [Hook, who plays his sister] because it was really important for me and for us to understand what our sibling dynamic is. I\u2019m out of school now and am I living in my own place or am I still living at home? And what was my relationship with my little brother and sister like growing up? Were our parents around all the time and super attentive or was mom was aloof and kind of a druggie and we knew that so that when these things are happening on the vacation, it\u2019s not that surprising to us? So, you create the backstory and we needed it to be aligned because that allows you to then go and play into the character when you\u2019re on set. Like, in episode one, I go and tickle my sister, or I go and give her a wet willie, and that was all just made up on the spot. Mike had just told us that he wanted these kind of weird Easter eggs to the family being really kind of odd and incestual.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat kinds of conversations did you have with Mike about Saxon\u2019s trajectory? Did I hear you say that you wanted to show growth and he balked?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, one of the biggest worries for me was that I was going to come off as just this one-note character. I was worried about not having a big arc. That\u2019s when Mike was like, \u201cLook, [the show takes place over] six or seven days. Not everyone has a fucking big arc in life in seven days. Like, where were you a week ago?\u201d Then he was like, \u201cThere will be subtle changes\u00a0\u2014 I\u2019m going to make you like this the first half of the show so that these subtle changes will show enough [in the second half].\u201d And I trusted him and obviously he was right, but it was a worry for me. And it\u2019s funny now because, actually, if you were to ask 100 people, I bet you 90 percent of them would say that Saxon was probably one of the most changed people.<\/p>\n

\n\tBy the end, yes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYes. And it\u2019s not like I had an insane arc, it just was enough because of how we painted him in the first half. And that\u2019s Mike for you. A really great writer.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the biggest learning experiences, I presume, was just how much people associate you with your character. Talk to me about getting comfortable with that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t think you can prepare for it, honestly. It\u2019s not something that\u2019s easy to come to grips with, and it was shocking for me and at times really weird. You start to be like, \u201cWait, that\u2019s not \u2026 but I\u2019m not \u2026.\u201d And then you realize, \u201cWell fuck, I can\u2019t go and explain to everybody that that\u2019s not me.\u201d And then you kind of let it play out and them, all of a sudden, you\u2019re doing talk shows and they\u2019re like, \u201cOh wait, maybe he\u2019s not like that.\u201d And then they\u2019re like, \u201cOh, the character\u2019s now completely different in the second half of the show,\u201d and so you get people coming up to you and thinking you\u2019re like that. And I\u2019ve done other shows, but I\u2019ve never had this experience where people really associate you with your character, and it was a learning experience.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking of, I believe Carrie Coon gave you some advice recently about making sure you don\u2019t play another douche. Do I have that right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt was at the Hollywood Reporter<\/em> shoot in New York, and this was back when only episode three or four had come out. She was sitting in the makeup chair, and she was like, \u201cHoney, I\u2019ve had so many friends come up to me being like, \u2018Carrie, was he like that on set?\u2019 And it\u2019s a great compliment but I\u2019m telling everybody that you\u2019re not like that, and that we\u2019ll show them through the rest of the episodes, but the next thing you do has got to be different. We got to show that [you have range].\u201d And it was good advice and that\u2019s exactly what I want to do. I want to do something that\u2019s completely different.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat said, Hollywood is very good at trying to replicate past success. Have you been sent a bunch of other douche roles in the month since?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve gotten sent a lot of rom-coms where the guy is like that typical guy, and I\u2019ve gotten sent some cool action stuff, but it\u2019s not what I\u2019ve wanted to do so far. And yeah, I guess it\u2019s easy to do something again, but I think it\u2019s really important for the next thing to be different and unique and for me to continuously try to showcase a different side.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis is a cast full of vets \u2014 what other morsels of wisdom did you pick up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tEverybody has given their own advice or what they\u2019ve learned along the way, from actual acting stuff to more career advice, and my parents do it as well. But I guess the best thing that I\u2019ve learned, and that I\u2019ve tried to stay true to, is that as a show like this comes out and your \u201cfame\u201d goes up or you\u2019re more recognized, a lot of things change in your life and to hopefully not change the things that are most important to you: your friends and your family and your values. A lot of the people on the set talked about getting big at a young age and how they ended up having things like their teams change or they lost the connection to their childhood friends, and it was a good reminder for me. All my best friends have been my best friends since preschool and lower school, and I do think I have a unique perspective on it because I kind of grew up around it as well. But yeah, I\u2019d say that\u2019s been one of the most important things.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat did your 2025 agency meeting and goals entail? And was Luca Guadagnino\u2019s American Psycho<\/em> on the top of this year\u2019s list?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u2019s on the very top of it is to work with a person like that, like Luca. And there are plenty of other directors that I\u2019d love to work with too.<\/p>\n

\n\tShould we manifest some?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. I mean, even the older greats like Spielberg and Scorsese and Tarantino and Fincher and Nolan \u2014 those are people that I would, of course, die to work with and that I studied in film school. And then there\u2019s the next wave of people, the Lucas and the Ari Asters and the Safdies. But for me, the most important thing about what I do next, is to do just something that I\u2019m really passionate about and that is different and unique and character driven.<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore I lose you, there will be a fourth season of The White Lotus.<\/em> You mentioned Leo Woodall had advice for you. I\u2019m curious what your advice would be for the next batch of actors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tOh man \u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tAnything you know now that you wish you knew when you were starting out?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI think sometimes I felt like I was the only one on set who was nervous and second-guessing things and worrying about the outcome. What I learned is that even the biggest actors there were in that same boat. It\u2019s a nerve-wracking project to be part of, and you don\u2019t want to be part of the [season] that people don\u2019t like. So, I think the advice is just to put your trust in Mike. He knows what he\u2019s doing, and he wants the best for every one involved, so just enjoy the process and the time. And sure, there were moments where it felt like seven months was an eternity, and you\u2019re in Thailand with everybody together at a hotel and it can get crazy sometimes and you can feel like, \u201cGet me out of here,\u201d but the second you leave, you\u2019re wishing you could go back. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patrick Schwarzenegger can\u2019t believe he\u2019s still talking about The White Lotus two months after the HBO hit concluded \u2014 and yet, there are very few subjects that he enjoys discussing more. The Mike White creation has fundamentally altered his career, after all; and while the process of filming was, at times, grueling, it was easily…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":674057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/patrick-schwarzenegger_1-H-2025.jpg?w=1296&h=730&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[23502,10549,1524,55075,80027,111658],"class_list":["post-674056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-carrie-coon","tag-emmys","tag-hbo","tag-mike-white","tag-patrick-schwarzenegger","tag-the-white-lotus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}