Acting is a tightrope walk. The seasoned performer faces the sometimes arduous task of imbuing even the crudest of characters with an innate humanity and likability. Patrick Schwarzenegger, one of the stars of the third season of The White Lotus, has managed to expertly pull off this balancing act with his portrayal of the braggadocious oldest son of the wealthy Ratliff family—delivering what could easily be perceived as obnoxious behavior with the kind of goofy charm that leaves a viewer conflicted.

Considered by many actors to be the best gig in Hollywood (“It’s like an adult summer camp,” says Schwarzenegger), The White Lotus’ combination of mystery, comedy, and dramatic intrigue has made the HBO series a cultural touchstone. Schwarzenegger—who describes the series as his “favorite show”—joins an elite roster of actors who have summoned millions of viewers to perform the increasingly forgotten ritual of weekly viewing, ever since the show’s debut in 2021. Ahead of the new season premiere, we chatted with Schwarzenegger over video call to hear about his career, the development of this complicated character, and the antics of beloved showrunner Mike White.

CHARLIE KOLBRENER: How and when did you start getting into acting when you were growing up?

PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER: I was introduced to acting, to the film world by my dad. My favorite activity growing up was my dad yanking me out of school early and getting to go to set. For a kid, it was like a dream. You got to go to Universal Studios, and during my dad’s breaks, we’d take the golf cart around, go to King Kong, Jaws, ride Jurassic Park and ET. It just opened my eyes to the film world. This idea that my dad would go in as ‘dad’ and come out as Mr. Freeze or as Terminator, that’s what drew me in at first. I started doing plays at school, and then I took it way more seriously after college and continue to study and continue to work. And my career side has continued to grow year over year since then.

CK: I know you’re a big The White Lotus fan, so what was it like getting cast in this and then getting to shoot it?

PS: It was really kind of wild. It’s my favorite show—my family’s favorite show. I remember when we were watching the first seasons, my family, my sisters, my mom, my fiancée would always yap at me, saying, ‘Why aren’t you in the show? Why didn’t you audition for this?’ And then the third season, when it came up in my inbox, it was such a secretive, confidential thing. I started to learn it was White Lotus, and I was internally freaking out, but also kind of like, ‘There’s no way I get this. Probably everyone and their mother is going out for it.’ When I auditioned, I found out right away that it was really in the tone that they were looking for for the character. When I got it, I just started crying. It was just such a crazy, surreal moment—one of those shock moments where it doesn’t feel real, you know?

CK: It seems like it’s definitely one of the more fun gigs that exists right now.

PS: I mean, it’s a dream come true. Going to work on a beach?

CK: The cast is just so amazing for the season. What was your experience like working with some of these people?

PS: As an actor, my goal is always to work with actors that are better than me and that I get to learn from. For this, I was really excited to work with Walton Goggins, I was big fan of his work, and to work and learn from him was really cool. And I had worked with Parker Posey on The Staircase before, so that was the only person that I had met previously, when I had got there. Although you’re all there together for the whole time, you obviously become closer with the people you film with, because that’s who you’re working with every day, you know, Jason Isaacs and Sam Nivola and Sarah Catherine Hook. And then when you guys are not working, the other people are working, so you kind of hang out with those people.

CK: What was the best part about being in Thailand and shooting there?

PS: Just being able to work on this show was my favorite part. To work with someone like Mike White, to work with all these other high-caliber actors. To be able to film and work at a Four Seasons hotel on the beach for seven months, it was just like a long vacation, with such a special group of people. It’s such a unique project. I don’t know how else to say it. It’s like an adult summer camp where you’re all at this hotel, and it’s this Kumbaya kind of working, but hanging out.

CK: Jennifer Coolidge in her Golden Globes acceptance speech said about Mike White, ‘He’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met.’ What was it like working with him?

PS: He’s one of the funniest people. He’s kind of this mix of extreme introvert, extreme extrovert, which makes absolutely no sense. But he doesn’t really make sense. He’s such a unique character. He just sits behind the camera with his big Quicksilver hat. You’ll be doing a scene, and you’ll just hear him cracking up. He’s got this famous laugh—which is kind of what I based my laugh in the show off of. He has this cackle and then he’ll scream things from the director’s chair at you that are really funny, and he’ll try to make you laugh. He’s also a health fanatic, and he works out non-stop. He’s drinking his green juice and protein and all these different things. He’s just a mix of different personalities and people in one. To work with him was really cool. It’s a very not serious set.

(cont…) From an actor’s perspective, you have directors that are just super directors. There are ones that are really visually focused, and then there are ones like Mike that are just—they’re an actor as well. So they kind of bring a different perspective to how they direct. At the end of the day, why I think he’s so successful and why the show works is because he’s the writer; he’s the director; he’s the show runner; he’s the creator. He knows what he’s looking for. We built the character together.

CK: How do you prepare to play such a potentially polarizing character like this?

PS: Yeah he’s a douche, but at the same time, it was important for me to make sure you kind of want to like him. He’s annoying and you hate him, but you also find him funny and ridiculous. And that was this fine line for Mike of wanting to make him have these humanizing moments, but also moments where you’re just like, everyone knows this kind of person. There’s always that person you know that’s kind of funny but just ridiculous. And you probably don’t want to bring him around your family and your parents, but you think he’s funny at school. So it was that balance.

CK: The very first shot of you, I was cracking up.

PS: Mike loves those sunglasses.

CK: How do you get your day started? What’s a day in your life like?

PS: Abby and I wake up, and we walk to coffee first thing in the morning. We’re lucky. We live in an area where we can walk to coffee, groceries, everything. We’re both coffee connoisseurs and addicts. Then we walk down to the beach, and I do prayers down there looking at the ocean and nature. Then I go back, usually work out, shower—or if I have time to, sauna. We will eat breakfast, and then I’ll go to the office. I’ll stay at the office until the afternoon or so, and then go back home. And usually, we’ll cook up dinner or something. Twice a week, we go to my mom’s house for dinner—on Tuesdays and Sundays.

CK: Will you have a weekly Sunday night viewing?

PS: Yeah, we did it with the first two seasons. We watched at my mom’s because we do that Sunday night dinner, and then we would watch all of us together at the house after dinner. We’ll probably expand the group to some more people and go from there. I enjoy watching it with more people because it’s fun to kind of theorize, ‘What’s gonna happen?’ When I watched it with Abby, right away, she was like, ‘Is it X, Y and Z? Does this happen? Come on, tell me! Do you die? What’s going on with your dad?’ I’m not telling her anything, but it’s fun to have those conversations when you’re with people who are trying to come up with what they think is going to happen. I told her: ‘Trust me, you don’t want to know.’

This cover story appears in the pages of VMAN 54: now available for purchase!

Photography Alvaro Beamud Cortes

Fashion Hunter Clem

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Grooming Christine Nelli (Forward Artists) using Bumble & Bumble

Set designer Daniel Horowitz

Producer Suze Lee

Retouching Camillo Bernardi Studio

1st Photo assistant Simone Triacca

Lighting technician Paul Gilmore

Digital technician Dillon Padgette

Stylist assistant George Villalpando

Set design assistants Sara Taylor, Jordan Odom

Production assistant Apu Gomes