For Patrick Schwarzenegger, the biggest concern about filming full-frontal scenes for shows such as The White Lotus is knowing his famous family will be watching.
Schwarzenegger, who is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, got his start with roles on Scream Queens, The Long Road Home, The Staircase, The Terminal List, Gen V and American Sports Story before booking The White Lotus.
The actor played Saxon in season 3, who got caught up in a confusing threesome with his brother. But while viewers had so many questions about the incestous story, Patrick’s loved ones were more concerned about the amount of stripping down that Saxon was doing throughout the season.
During a February 2025 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Patrick was asked whether he would be joined by his parents to watch the White Lotus conclusion. Patrick admitted, “It was a little nerve-wracking watching the first episode with my whole family because I do take some clothes off.”
Patrick had a different plan in mind for the end of the season, adding, “I think some upcoming episodes I’m going to watch without them. [I] would definitely take a bathroom break [if things get too awkward]. The next episodes, they’re crazy.”
Host Drew Barrymore also played a message for Patrick recorded by his mother. “I think every single one you’ve been nervous for me to watch,” Shriver said in reference to her son’s nude scene in the premiere. “You keep saying, ‘That’s not me, that’s a prosthetic.’”
Despite his mother — and father — playfully weighing in on his viral scenes, Patrick shut down assumptions that he has been booking jobs because of his famous parents.
“I know there are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is,” Patrick told The Sunday Times that same month. “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.”
Patrick made it clear he wanted to prove people wrong. “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,” he explained. “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.”
Keep scrolling for the most candid commentary from Patrick’s family about him putting himself on display:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
During Variety’s Actors on Actors interview in June 2025, Arnold said he “couldn’t believe” Patrick’s surprising nude scene, adding, “I said to myself, ‘I’m watching your show, and I’m watching your butt sticking out there.’ And all of a sudden, I see the weenie. [I said,] ‘What is going on here? This is crazy.’”
Arnold continued: “Then I said to myself, ‘Well, Arnold, hello. You did the same thing in Conan [the Barbarian] and Terminator, so don’t complain about it.’ But it was a shock to me that you were following my footsteps so closely.”
Maria Shriver
“People are like, ‘Oh my God, you saw!’ [and] I’m like, ‘I gave birth to him.’ It’s not such a, you know, I’ve seen him naked,” Shriver joked on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” podcast. “I’ve seen him naked since he was a baby.”
“I know where my eyes went,” Pratt joked during an interview with E! News in February 2025 about Patrick’s nude scene. “I’m not blood related to him, I was looking at that d***, bro.”
Pratt, who is married to Katherine Schwarzenegger, praised Patrick’s performance, saying, “No, he looks amazing. Obviously, he’s a physical specimen, but also he’s a really solid actor because the character he’s playing is completely different than who he is.”
After helping Patrick with his audition, Pratt was thrilled to see the season’s success.
“He created a character. And it feels natural and good. I’ve been telling everybody for years, I’ve been telling him as well, I really think we’re entering a decade of Patrick,” he continued. “I’ve been watching him, he’s just been working hard.”
Pratt concluded: “He’s actually a hustler across the board, not just with acting but with business, and everything. He’s super driven, and I know he gets that from both his mom and his dad.”
