Cory Stillman
As Saxon Ratliff on HBO’s The White Lotus, Patrick Schwarzenegger follows in a long line of oddly empathetic assholes. It is a tradition Schwarzenegger has already carried with him in his career, building off comparable roles on such hits as HBO’s The Staircase or Amy Poehler‘s Moxie. As rumors swirl about his potential casting in Luca Guadagnino‘s American Psycho remake, the shocking psychosexual developments between Saxon and his brother Lochlan in The White Lotus season three loom large.
But Schwarzenegger is not limiting himself to any one type of project. His priorities have been shaped by his time on The White Lotus in other ways. The son of Arnold wants to continue working with talented writer/directors like Mike White, and he wants to continue surrounding himself with tight-knit casts like the one he found in Thailand.
“I think I have made friends that will be up at my wedding with me,” says Schwarzenegger. “I love them and I loved the experience.”
Of course, those kinds of bonds are rare. The White Lotus fostered a singular environment that allowed for that kind of lasting intimacy, for better or for worse.
“Because you’re stuck with these people in this pressure cooker for seven months in a hotel, you become friends with them,” says Schwarzenegger. “You gravitate towards the people you gravitate towards, and you don’t with the other people. But I became close with a good amount of them, and each person has a special place in my heart.”
One such connection for Schwarzenegger is with actress Aimee Lou Wood, who plays Chelsea on the show. In fact, the young star was on his way to meet her at her NYC hotel prior to that evening’s Met Gala. The friendship between Saxon and Chelsea in The White Lotus was fascinating in its own right, as Chelsea abruptly ended their final encounter to embrace her detached boyfriend Rick. Little did Saxon nor Chelsea know, she would take a bullet for Rick later that afternoon. Saxon may have had a crush on Chelsea, or he may simply viewed her as an honest and genuine friend at a resort where those seemed increasingly hard to come by. No matter the case, Schwarzenegger admires the ambiguity that shrouds the entire relationship.
“Mike writes everything for a reason. He leaves things open and ambiguous and up to the viewers for a reason,” says Schwarzenegger. “Not everything has to have a full closure and ending, and that’s kind of what the show is about.”
Check out my full discussion with Patrick Schwarzenegger below!
The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Cory Stillman: Hi Patrick! I think it’s fair to say that Saxon starts out as a pretty unlikable character on The White Lotus and against all odds becomes somewhat of a sympathetic character. Can you talk to us a bit about your relationship with the character and how you were mapping out his arc in your mind as the show unfolded?
Patrick Schwarzenegger: Yeah, you know what? It’s something that was on my mind from day one when I read the script. I mean, you know, Mike is such a brilliant writer and director and showrunner and so many other things. But when I first read it, that was my biggest worry – was there enough of an arc for Saxon? Was there enough to show that he was extremely changed by the end? And was he going to come off as one-note? Mike was really helpful with that because, first off – what he said to me, which was really was kind of brilliant, was “look, you don’t need to have a huge change. This is one week. The show takes place over one week. People don’t have insane changes over one week.” Some people do, and some people don’t change at all. And some people have a little bit of changes. That’s what makes this show more realistic and real is because it’s showing that. Mike and I wanted the audience to wonder, did Saxon fully change at the end? And I think that’s what he really accomplished and what we worked on.
There were things that were not on the page that we shot, where on the day it just came to Mike’s mind that this would be really good to show a little bit more of his arc, like when we were on the boat and I was just sitting up top looking extremely hungover and I was kind of prepping for the next scene. He was like “oh, you look hilarious. You look so disheveled. Let’s film this.” And then that ended up being a huge moment of the sixth episode up on the boat. And same with me going in and throwing up and and even getting up off the bed and kind of looking back at my brother. Those were things that he just thought of right there because he thought it was so funny how different of a vibe Saxon had versus what he did the first episodes. I was definitely shocked how much people enjoyed the ride with Saxon because I think they were shocked too. I think we all were shocked, but I’m very happy with how it how it played over.
CS: One relationship in the show that is maybe less talked about that I really enjoyed was your relationship with Chelsea. I’m curious if you can talk a little bit about your perspective on that relationship as an actor and maybe even hypothesize how you might imagine Saxon would react to Chelsea’s death at the end there?
PS: It’s funny you say that, and people actually asked me, like, “why didn’t you play the boat way more down and dramatic?” And my my answer is that I can’t play something that I don’t know. It’s not honest and truthful to the character. If he doesn’t know that Chelsea died, then why would he be all depressed and down on the boat? It’s just not what would happen. And so I try not to read other people’s dialogue or full scenes because I don’t want something to influence me as a character that I wouldn’t know otherwise. And I mean, yes, I think it would be a beautiful, quite depressing, and sad scene to have Saxon learn about what happened to Chelsea. But Mike writes everything for a reason and he leaves things open and ambiguous and up to the viewers for a reason. And I think that not everything has to have a full closure and ending. And that’s kind of what the show is about. You know, that’s why he doesn’t show what happens when we get back home. That’s why he doesn’t show all the kids fully hearing about what happened. It’s just the quick moment of them opening their phones and looking up at their dad. I think Mike does everything in a very purposeful manner.
CS: That is something I think I picked up on as the show went on is that this is a show that’s actually concerned with a lack of closure and a lack of resolution in a way that’s pretty novel for a lot of our our storytelling.
PS: You have to remember in life, a lot of people don’t get closure. That’s what makes it real is that there are some parts that are closed, like the three ladies, and what happens there at the table. That was beautiful closure in a way. And then other people don’t have closure. So it’s just this kind of mix.
CS: Much has been made about the camaraderie and the overall dynamic amongst the cast on this show and some of the lasting relationships that have come from it. Could you just talk a little bit about your own relationships and what was in the air in Thailand that made this cast so special?
PS: Yeah, I have only positive things to say. I enjoyed my experience tremendously from, like I said, the learning side of the acting to being able to be on this project, making friends, lifelong friends. I mean, I’ve gotten to hang out with Aimee Lou the last three days. I’m going over to her hotel later to go to the Met [Gala] together. We’re shooting a commercial together for a week and a half in London, and I’m staying a couple extra days to get to hang with her. Sarah Catherine and Sam, they play my siblings. I FaceTimed with them yesterday. We talk pretty much on FaceTime at least once a week and we text almost every other day. Mike and Dave Bernard came over for dinner two nights ago with my whole family at my house. You know, so those are things that don’t necessarily happen on other projects, but because you’re kind of stuck with these people in this pressure cooker, per se, for seven months in a hotel, you become friends with them or you gravitate towards the people you gravitate towards and you don’t with the other people or however that works. But I became really close with a good amount of them in it and each person has a special place in my heart. When you think about it, there’s really no one else in life besides your significant other, your partner, your wife, your husband, that you’re spending seven months every single day with – breakfast, lunch, dinner or work. I got to know certain members of this cast better than I know some of my best friends. You know, it’s a real experience. And so I’m forever grateful for it. And I think I’ve made friends that will be up in my wedding with me. I love them and I love the experience.
CS: There’s that video that went around of you at Lisa’s set at Coachella, which kind of prompted this question for me.
PS: I mean with Lisa, it’s great for her and it’s great for us. Like I know I’ve had friends that have been in this industry that, you know, are really famous and successful and stuff, and it’s hard for them to find some other friends sometimes that just don’t care about the other stuff and are just there to be their friends. And I feel like that was probably nice for Lisa to have people like that on the show. I honestly didn’t even know who she was when we signed up and we met. And then my fiancé told me about her. But she’s a really sweet and great girl, an incredible actress and performer. And I was happy to go and support her at Coachella. We had a great time.
CS: I have one more quick question. A bit of fan casting has circulated online attaching you to a potential American Psycho remake. Because you’re also involved in a moment in this season of The White Lotus that I think we could all agree is probably one of the most messed up moments in the show’s history from a psychosexual kind of standpoint, I’m curious what kind of projects you are drawn to moving forward? Is there a specific kind of project you’re drawn to? Maybe some dream roles and genres?
PS: I mean, I’m drawn to material and working with great actors and actresses and great filmmakers. You know, I mean, it doesn’t have to be American Psycho. You know, working with Luca is awesome. Working with someone like Mike White has been awesome. Antonio Campos on The Staircase, or Amy Poehler who wrote and directed Moxie. Working with really amazing directors, writers – that’s my goal. And just getting to continue to push myself as an actor and grow is what I’m looking to do.
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