We talk to the actor about his role in The White Lotus and the relationship between his art and life

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Interview: Patrick Schwarzenegger

We talk to the actor about his role in The White Lotus and the relationship between his art and life

Tamara Warren

17 March 2025

For the actor Patrick Schwarzenegger, life is imitating his art. He is currently traveling the world to promote his role in the third season of “The White Lotus,” created, directed, and written by showrunner Mike White. Season three is set in Thailand under the auspices of a mysterious whodunnit, and the HBO series quips at the nature of high-end vacations and what these sojourns reveal about the people that take them. For the show, Schwarzenegger and fellow cast members embarked on a seven-month perpetual working vacation at a Thai resort and cavorted on yachts in the Gulf of Thailand.

We spoke with Schwarzenegger at the well-suited American Express Centurion New York club, faraway from Thailand, located on the 55th floor at One Vanderbilt Avenue in Manhattan, designed by Yabu Pushelberg. It was hard not to be distracted by the majestic view of the Chrysler Building that loomed in the distance through specially enhanced glass. Later that evening, he joined cast mate Parker Posey (who plays his mother Victoria Ratliff) in a conversation about the show for an American Express / HBO partnership for Centurion members. A wing of the club was decked out in White Lotus-inspired greenery. Guests nibbled from the Thai-themed menu as the actors told stories about the production on stage.

At writing, the show is four episodes into the new season, as the enigmatic murder mystery drips out against the backdrop of lush foliage at the resort in Koh Samui, Thailand, which is a real life Four Seasons Resort. Schwarzenegger plays Saxon Ratliff, the snide oldest son and provocateur in an old money Southern family. Often shirtless, the character personifies smarmy entitled white bro energy. “I try not to let the character influence me by any means outside of the project,” he said.

To prepare for the role on set, he spent a great deal of time with his TV family on location, which shone through in his easy rapport with Posey on stage at Centurion New York. Her character’s placating, molasses accent slipped out on set as they bantered about mishaps on set. White’s style of directing meant no rehearsals, instead he encouraged the actors to bring characters to life in the moment. Schwarzenegger and Posey knew one another before the show, having both appeared in the 2022 true crime miniseries “The Staircase.”

Schwarzenegger’s Saxon is abrasive, unlikeable, and shows glimpses of insecurity as the season unfolds. “What Mike (White) does is so genius just luring the audience in to really care about and understand who each and every one of these characters are.” In person, the actor fortunately presented nothing like his character. Schwarzenegger wore a loose grey suit, white t-shirt, and shiny leather shoes. He was affable, gracious, and almost a tad bashful about his healthy appetite. “I’m a food junkie. I love food,” he said. He said his favorite activities are to work out, go exploring, and drink coffee.

He often mentions his family and fiancé, even when talking about what he learned from the seven-month adventure filming “The White Lotus.” “What did I learn? How much I missed my family. It’s hard to be on the opposite side of the world. When you wake up, they’re going to sleep and vice versa.” His family name suggests his high-profile pedigree. His father is Arnold Schwarzenegger, his mother is Maria Shriver, and he has four siblings including his sister Katherine who is married to the actor Chris Pratt. “My mom is in LA, my dad is actually here (in NYC) filming, and my siblings are all in LA, but we’re a really close family. Missing them is probably the worst part about it. My fiancée came out here with me this week, which was so nice. She just left today, but I won’t see her for the next month.”

One aspect Schwarzenegger took away from his many months in Thailand was what it meant to immerse himself totally in a culture. “I’ve had the blessing to be able to travel all around the world for work—just this last month going back to Bangkok for the premiere and coming here to New York for this event. We’re going to Spain and Germany next week for “The White Lotus” and then to Australia for the debut over there,” he said. “I think that’s a different form of travel when you get to really go out there and try to understand the culture and the people and the food and the tourism. There’s just so many aspects of it.”

When they weren’t filming in Thailand he visited the beaches and coffee shops. “On my off days, I would go and try new coffee shops in Fisherman’s Village that I found and then I got everybody hooked on. They made cold brew. It was like one of the only places on the island that made cold brew.” Another memorable tourist moment was vintage shopping at a mall in Bangkok. While he professes to love design and style, he traveled light. “When I go on a trip like that, I kind of leave everything behind. I traveled with like four or five outfits, like just a couple of shorts and shirts. My fiancé would laugh at me.”

As he wraps up his travels for “The White Lotus” press tour in the next few weeks, he’s back to work on several upcoming projects and will play a small role in the upcoming role in “Billy Knight,” starring Al Pacino. For Schwarzenegger, as a fan of the first two White Lotus seasons, playing Saxon was a dream role, and he’s relishing the rollout as the weeks tick down. “There’s not much I loved about him, but I loved playing him,” he said. Without giving away any spoilers, he suggested audiences still have more sides to see of Saxon in later episodes. “So far anything to take away, I hope comes later. Mike’s too smart, too rich of a writer for a character to be one note.”

“Like a real human being?” we asked. “Yeah, like a real human being,” Schwarzenegger said.