Patrick Schwarzenegger has revealed he once thought about using a different name early in his career to avoid being compared with his famous father, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
According to Variety’s Actors On Actors series, the 31-year-old actor spoke candidly with his father about how the weight of the family name nearly led him to consider an alias.
Pressure of a Recognisable Name
Patrick, who plays Saxon Ratcliff in the third season of The White Lotus, said series creator Mike White was initially cautious about casting him.
“I think Mike was worried about, if he casted me, what other people would think, which they did, they did care about that,” he said.
He added, “There were times earlier in my career where I was wondering ‘Does it make sense to go under some sort of alias? Does it make sense to go under a different name?’”
Despite those doubts, Patrick said he ultimately decided to embrace his identity and focus on growing his own career. He explained that it took him years to stop focusing on comparisons and instead take “baby steps” toward building something independently.
Embracing the Schwarzenegger Legacy
Arnold Schwarzenegger, now 77, said he appreciated his son’s choice to keep the family name.
“I’m grateful you kept the name because now I can take credit – ‘My son, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,’” he joked.
Arnold also pointed out that many Hollywood actors with famous parents had to prove their own talent despite public assumptions. He compared Patrick’s path to that of Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of actor Tony Curtis.
“You basically now have joined this short list of people, of actors in Hollywood that had famous parents,” Arnold said. “I think that if you show that you have the substance, you can get rid of this whole idea of nepotism.”
From The Terminator to The White Lotus
Arnold Schwarzenegger rose to fame in the 1980s, starring in Conan the Barbarian and later as the title character in The Terminator. Before acting, he had a successful career in bodybuilding and later served as California’s governor.
Patrick, meanwhile, continues building his acting résumé and says that The White Lotus has given his career new momentum.
Article updated 4 days ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
