NEED TO KNOW
Patrick Schwarzenegger had no clue the stress he was causing the White Lotus bosses.
When creator Mike White and producer Dave Bernad sent the season 3 scripts to Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola, who had been cast as his onscreen brother, they were both admittedly “anxious” and hoping neither actor would “drop out” after seeing how complicated their storyline got (spoiler alert: it involved incest).
The 31-year-old actor, though, was completely unaware of those concerns. “Dave and Mike told me that after, like, two months on set. Dave was like, ‘Oh 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,'” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I was like, ‘Dude, one, in what world do you think that I would’ve dropped out of White Lotus? And two, I think every actor kind of expects that there’s some crazy shit that’s going to happen on this show.’ And he was like, ‘No, I know, but obviously this was crazy.'”
HBO
Schwarzenegger remembered being bombarded by Bernad over text after he was sent the scripts, which were 600 pages.
”He was like, ‘Oh, has it gotten crazy yet?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s starting to get really crazy. Ha.’ And then he was like, ‘OK, haha, let me know.’ Then, literally a few hours later, he’s like, ‘Yo, did you read the rest of it?’ And I was like, ‘Dude, chill. Give me a second. I’m trying to get through them, but I can’t just breeze through. I’m learning about who my character is.'”
By the following day, Bernad had again checked in, and Schwarzenegger had finally gotten to the aforementioned “crazy” scene, which saw Saxon kiss his younger brother Lochlan (Nivola), and have a threesome with him.
“I was like, ‘Dude, it gets crazy.’ And he was like, ‘I know, right?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, it gets insane. It’s hilarious and this thing and this thing….’ 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.”
Warner Bros.
Schwarzenegger told the outlet that as “boundary-pushing” as the storyline between the brothers was, it’s part of “the fun of being an actor.”
“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’s portraying a Ted Bundy type or it’s doing a character like this where you have this experience with your brother on the boat or it’s going and doing an action thing and you’re doing stunts,” he said. “We get to play different types of people and different types of roles. So, of course, this is boundary-pushing, you’re right at the envelope there, but you trust Mike with his vision.”
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After the “crazy” moment between the brothers aired, Bernad weighed in on the controversy as he said that “those big story turns are not just for shock.”
“There’s a specific reason in terms of the narrative storytelling, and the larger thematic idea Mike is trying to get across,” he told the New York Post.
“The show goes there for a larger thematic idea,” Bernad continued. “I love that family storyline, especially the brother story — and it culminates in a very satisfying way.”
