Arnold Schwarzenegger recently shared his candid reaction to witnessing his son, Patrick Schwarzenegger, in a particularly revealing nude scene during the third season of HBO’s acclaimed series The White Lotus. The cinematic icon recounted his experience during a joint “Actors on Actors” interview with Patrick for Variety, admitting his initial shock upon seeing his son bare all on screen. Arnold humorously detailed his thought process, which quickly pivoted to a moment of self-reflection as he recalled his own extensive history with on-screen nudity in his career-defining films. The exchange provided a lighthearted yet insightful glimpse into the generational parallels of on-screen exposure within the Schwarzenegger family’s acting careers.
“I couldn’t believe [it],” Arnold described the moment he encountered his son Patrick’s full-frontal nude scene in The White Lotus. “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. Then I said to myself, ‘Well, Arnold, hello. You did the same thing in ‘Conan’ and ‘Terminator,’ so don’t complain about it.’ But it was a shock to me that you were following my footsteps so closely.”
In The White Lotus Season 3, Patrick Schwarzenegger plays Saxon Ratliff, the eldest child of the wealthy and troubled Timothy (Jason Isaacs) and Victoria (Parker Posey). The specific nude scene occurs in the season premiere, titled “Same Spirits, New Forms.” The episode establishes Saxon as a hypersexual character early on, even making inappropriate comments about his sister’s appearance. The memorable moment unfolds when Saxon, wanting to watch pornography and masturbate without doing so in front of his younger brother Lochlan (Sam Nivola) in their shared hotel room, walks entirely naked to the bathroom. The scene creates an intentionally uncomfortable moment, especially with a split second of eye contact between the brothers before Saxon closes the bathroom door. This scene aligns with The White Lotus‘s established tradition of featuring full-frontal male nudity in its season premieres.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Own History With On-Screen Nudity
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s surprise at his son Patrick’s on-screen nudity is particularly amusing given his own extensive experience with baring it all, especially during the formative years of his Hollywood ascent. The elder Schwarzenegger frequently appeared nude or near-nude in iconic roles that leveraged his world-champion physique, making his on-screen nakedness almost a signature element of his early action hero persona. Films like Conan the Barbarian showcased his muscular form with minimal costuming, often blurring the lines between character and his Mr. Universe image. However, it was perhaps his role in The Terminator that featured one of his most memorable nude entrances, a scene that became instantly iconic and set a precedent for his willingness to use his physique as a powerful storytelling tool.
“Terminator was a huge breakthrough because I was doing the Conan movies, and this is exactly what my dream was when I was a kid,” Arnold reflected on his career. “You [Patrick] wanted to get into acting because of acting; I wanted to get into it because I saw Hercules on a big screen. I started training and said to myself, ‘I will become Mr. Universe, and I will be getting into movies because of my fame.’ Terminator was the first time that I was doing a film that had nothing to do with the muscles. It was with leather jackets on and being a machine. Only the opening scene was naked.”
All three seasons of The White Lotus are currently available on Max.
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