It's no secret that Patrick Schwarzenegger has a very famous surname, and a very famous father. As the eldest son of The Terminator actor turned Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick has joined the ever-expanding nepo baby multiverse whether he likes it or not. His mother Maria Shriver is also the niece of former US President John F. Kennedy, if you were wondering.
Part of the cast of season three of The White Lotus playing Saxon, the obnoxious and entitled eldest child of the North Carolina Ratliff family, Patrick has joined an envied and admired class of actors. Not only did he get to spend several months filming in luxury hotels in Thailand, but he has joined the ranks of Sydney Sweeney, Jennifer Coolidge, Will Sharpe, Leo Woodall, Tom Hollander, Aubrey Plaza and Theo James, to name but a few White Lotus alumnae.
Patrick plays the part of the arrogant sex-driven older brother hellbent on goading his younger siblings and climbing up his father's nether regions incredibly convincingly. He has also recently starred in the HBO series, The Staircase, as well as Terminal List and American Sports Story. In other words, he is a fine actor and we will no doubt be seeing his face a lot more often when the series draws to a close.
However, not every cast member brought along their A-list parent to the premiere of the show. Sharing a proud picture of his son after watching the first episode, Arnold wrote: 'I was so pumped to take a break from filming to celebrate @patrickschwarzenegger at the White Lotus Season 3 premiere. What a show! I could claim to be surprised to find out he has a nude scene, but what can I say – the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.'
Patrick has since spoken out in response to claims that he got the part because of his famous family. 'There are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is,' the actor told The Sunday Times. 'They’re not seeing that I’ve had ten years of acting classes, put on [high] school plays every week, worked on my characters for hours on end or the hundreds of rejected auditions I’ve been on.
'Of course, it’s frustrating and you can get boxed in and you think at that moment, I wish I didn’t have my last name,' he continued. 'But that’s a small moment. I would never trade my life with anyone. I’m very fortunate to have the life and family that I have.'
While it's very unlikely that the show's creator Mike White thought 'hmmm, you know who would be perfect for this role? Arnold Schwarzenegger's eldest son!', Patrick is perhaps underestimating the head start he's had in life.
Nepo baby discourse can feel tiresome at the best of times – particularly last month when one viral X post accused the singer Lola Young of being a nepo baby because her aunt wrote the children's book, The Gruffalo. But Patrick is right, with that surname there is nowhere to hide.
The fact he comes from a famous, wealthy, well-connected family does not overwrite his talents or his ability to succeed in a creative industry that is notoriously difficult to penetrate – in fact, it does that opposite. While Patrick has rightly referenced his training and his years of struggle and failed auditions, he is forgetting that that's the normal lived experience of most aspiring actors around the world. What those people don't have, however, is the A-list jump start, hefty inheritance or long list of stable career alternatives at their fingertips.
We all know by now that every industry is riddled with people's sons, daughters, nieces and nephews. There is simply no getting around it. The only thing that has changed in the past decade or so is our ability to connect the dots much faster because of the internet and social media. For generations, nepo babies have slipped under the radar and become megastars and CEOs without question, now they are experiencing a little teasing and push back from people who might rightfully feel a bit disappointed.
That can't be easy and it's not always entirely fair, but it's a very small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. As we said before, Patrick will be cast in something else in no time and those hazy days of failed auditions and and sub one million Instagram followers will be all but a distant memory.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).