Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘couldn’t believe' his son Patrick's nudity on The White Lotus: ‘Followed my footsteps closely’

Arnold Schwarzenegger “couldn't believe” his son and fellow actor Patrick Schwarzenegger, pursue the same path with a nude scene on The White Lotus, a a comedy-drama series released in 2021. The discussion shifted to Arnold's experience of viewing his son's "weenie" on television, according to Variety's Actors on Actors series.

‘All of a sudden, I see the weenie’

“I couldn’t believe [it]. 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. What is going on here? This is crazy,” Arnold stated.

"Then I said to myself, 'Well, Arnold, hello. You did the same thing in Conan and Terminator, so don’t complain about it," he informed his son, stating, “It was a shock to me that you were following my footsteps so closely.” He added, “Your acting surprised the hell out of me. Not that I didn't know you're good. But it was just unbelievable, the kind of stuff that you did in the show.”

Patrick gained significant attention in the recent season 3 of Mike White's acclaimed dramedy The White Lotus, portraying a wealthy finance bro on vacation with his Southern family in Thailand who unravels after an incestuous encounter with his younger brother (Sam Nivola). Earlier, he discussed about watching the show with his family, comprising mother Maria Shriver, and how they "had different reactions to seeing me completely nude."

“My dad thought it was hilarious. My mom didn’t even really understand what was happening. You know, everyone had a different kind of thought," he said, mentioning his fiancée, model Abby Champion, "melted into her chair” and “was kind of flustered by it”.

Arnold first reacted to the surprise of his son's on-screen nudity after attending the Season 3 premiere of The White Lotus in February. Sharing red carpet photos with Patrick on Instagram, he joked: “I could claim to be surprised to find out he has a nude scene, but what can I say — the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

In another part of the Actors on Actors interview, Patrick discussed what it’s like to navigate Hollywood as a nepo baby, revealing that he once considered using a different name to separate his career from the shadow of his well-known parents.

"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," he informed his father.

"I’m glad you kept the name, because now I can take credit," Arnold replied, stating, "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."