Editor's note: This article contains spoilers about season 3 of HBO's The White Lotus.
In his first post-finale interview, Patrick Schwarzenegger discussed Saxon's sexual orientation, the incest storyline comparisons between The White Lotus and Game of Thrones, and how he feels about his brother-in-law Chris Pratt watching his naked scenes on the hit HBO series.
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Right after leaving a screening of The White Lotus season 3 finale, Schwarzenegger opened up about a few hot topics that he can now dive into without the risk of spoiling anything further. For instance, the actor revealed that he did not have any conversations with showrunner Mike White about Saxon's sexual orientation.
"One of my audition scenes was the scene by the pool, when the two girls are interrogating me saying they didn't force me to kiss my brother," Schwarzenegger told Variety. "I'm like, 'Yeah, you did,' And then they say, 'Well, we didn't make him jerk you off.' At the time, I didn't know if that was them messing with me, or if it had actually happened, until I booked the role. We didn't necessarily have conversations before that."
Variety's Matt Donnelly then referenced a recent "I Don't Think So Honey" segment from Matt Rogers on Las Culturistas in which the actor and comedian dragged viewers who are very concerned about the incest on The White Lotus but didn't have as many issues with the long-standing incestuous pairing between Cersei and Jaime Lannister on Game of Thrones.
Schwarzenegger reacted to that reference saying that "Game of Thrones was a totally different world. It's a different setting, a period fantasy. This is hitting way harder because it's current."
When it came to the argument that more people were upset about The White Lotus incest because it involved two men, Schwarzenegger remarked: "If it's because it's two brothers, or guy-on-guy, I think it's just the current state of what the show is."
Speaking of family, the actor was asked about his brother-in-law, Chris Pratt, and his own father, Arnold Schwarzenegger, sharing their candid reactions in the media about seeing Patrick's naked scenes on The White Lotus. Did using prosthetics make it any easier for him to navigate those reactions?
"I don't know that it made it easier," Patrick Schwarzenegger told Variety. "But at the end of the day, I'm playing a character. It's uncomfortable, but it's not me. I put my trust in Mike, and he's continuing to push the envelope. I was shocked at how well it worked out."
The actor added, "The first four episodes, I had people coming up to me nonstop telling me how much they hated my character, that I was playing such a great douche bag, and all these different things. But that past four weeks, I've had people come up saying, 'I feel so much for your character. He's going through so much. I can't believe I'm rooting for Saxon.'"
The White Lotus season 3 finale really had everything: Saxon begging his brother to live in denial about the sex scene between them, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) admitting that she's more like her mom than she cared to admit, Timothy (Jason Isaacs) attempting to murder his entire family, Victoria (Parker Posey) asking for some wine after almost dying from a poisoned smoothie, and the miracle of Lochlan going from "twink death" to "twink resurrection."
And even though the Ratliff family just went through quite a roller-coaster ride, there is so much more to come after this 90-minute episode concludes. A life of financial ruin and legal battles awaits them!
HBO's The White Lotus season 3 is now streaming on Max.
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