Now that season 3 of “The White Lotus” has finished airing, Patrick Schwarzenegger gets honest about what it was like auditioning and bringing his character Saxon Ratliff to life on set. Plus, he details who he bonded with while filming the show in Thailand, and which costar gave him great acting advice.
This article contains some spoilers.
Seducing the Camera In His Self-Tape Audition
At a recent SAG-AFTRA Foundation screening in Manhattan for actors in the Screen Actors Guild union, Schwarzenegger, 31, got candid about the process of making the HBO series. First came the invitation to audition via self-tape for a show called “The Secret Garden.” The actor told the crowd that once he saw the name Mike White as the writer and director on the casting breakdown, he knew immediately that it was “The White Lotus.”
He only received three audition scenes for the role of Saxon – not a full episode script – and a short description of the character: “A finance bro who is a flirt.” Schwarzenegger knew he had to make the character his own, since all he had in the instructions was just “a sliver of what the character is.” One of those three audition scenes was from the first episode of season 3, where Saxon lies in bed next to his brother Lochlan and talks about how hot their sister Piper is. He called the scene “nuts,” prompting a laugh from the audience.
GettyIn order to immediately give viewers what he thought was the right vibe for Saxon, Schwarzenegger stated that he “eye-f***ed the camera in the first five seconds” of his self-tape audition. He did his best to make the character a “horny, flirty guy” and the camera someone he wanted. His choices obviously paid off.
Another audition scene he had to perform was from Season 3 Episode 6, where Chelsea (played by Aimee Lou Wood) calls his character “soulless” while they sit next to one another. He called it a “big power shift” for his character as his ego gets destroyed. He went on to say that he usually becomes the most proud of those nerve-wracking scenes that can initially make him uncomfortable as an actor.
Creator Mike White Approved His Character Ideas On Set
According to Schwarzenegger, he was already flying to Thailand two to three weeks after the booking the role. His first day of filming involved a scene at the pool in season 3’s first episode. A clip from that scene made the rounds on social media because of the way he adjusts himself after getting out of the pool. “It was my idea to adjust myself,” he told the group of actors, and director Mike White laughed at the moment. Thinking it was a perfect move for Saxon, White left it in the episode.
It was also Schwarzenegger’s idea for his character to sleep naked in his hotel room, no matter who was near, like his brother. He explained that because Saxon is such a dominant, hypermasculine guy, he wants to control the room, and doesn’t care if others might be uncomfortable with his nudity.
Schwarzenegger shared another memory that White had to pull him aside during filming because of a problem with his walking. He comically did a Mike White impersonation and repeated the note he was given on set that day: “You don’t look rich. You gotta walk ‘richer.’ Arenât you rich in real life?” The audience laughed, as did Schwarzenegger, who walked around the stage in that moment. Apparently his costar Parker Posey, an actor’s actor and always a fan favorite, had then asked, “Which part of his body does he lead with?” which made Schwarzenegger laugh.
Bonding With His “Family” In Thailand
It’s no doubt that cast members bond on a film or TV set, away from home for long periods of time. “The White Lotus” was no exception, as Schwarzenegger explained there was a lot of immediate family bonding with his costars. “We did everything together,” he said, adding that he especially connected with his TV siblings Sam Nivola and Sarah Catherine Hook and ate all meals with them for seven months in Thailand. One day, White had asked Schwarzenegger if he wanted to get dinner, but Schwarzenegger told him, “I’m getting dinner with my family.”
GettyBecause of this closeness with his coworkers, he stated that he got emotional at the end of filming his scenes. “I was surprised at how maybe emotional it was, or how much I actually rooted for specific characters and myself. You feel like you know these people.” The cast also watched the finale together, which Schwarzenegger said made him tear up.
Schwarzenegger’s Costar Gave Him a “Confidence Boost”
The last question from the moderator was about the best acting advice Schwarzenegger has ever received. Besides a self-tape tip from his brother-in-law Chris Pratt, Schwarzenegger remembered what his costar Walton Goggins told him on his second day of filming. Schwarzenegger had asked the “Fallout” and “Justified” star if he ever gets nervous. After a pause, Goggins simply responded, “Yeah,” before seriously saying with a poke, “But I never f***ing question my process and that I’m the one for this role.” Schwarzenegger told the audience about his own self-doubts, but that Goggins’ confidence boost will continue to stay in his mind.
Highlights from the Q&A can be seen on SAG-AFTRA’s YouTube page here.
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