After scooping up multiple Emmys and earning a reputation as one of television’s sharpest satires, “The White Lotus” returned for its highly anticipated third season—this time set against the sun-soaked spiritualism of Thailand. With creator Mike White once again at the helm, Season Three introduced a fresh ensemble of tourists and troublemakers, including one scene-stealing standout: Saxon, played with gleeful chaos by Patrick Schwarzenegger.
As Saxon Ratliff—a cocky, entitled 20-something on a family wellness retreat with deep pockets and shallow awareness—Schwarzenegger dives headfirst into the show’s signature blend of absurdity and uncomfortable humanity.
“Mike told me Saxon was kind of the third evolution of the Jake Lacy and Theo James characters,” Patrick recalls. “This over-the-top guy with no filter that you love to watch, maybe laugh at… but then you start to wonder what’s going on behind the eyes.”
To prepare for the role, Schwarzenegger drew on his past work (“Gen V”, “The Staircase”), but the real breakthrough came during an impromptu dinner with co-star Parker Posey. “She looked at me and said, ‘What part of the body does Saxon lead with?’ I had to think about that,” he shares. “Eventually, I told her, probably his penis. And she said, ‘Yes. Build the character around that.’”
Schwarzenegger’s performance charts one of the season’s most memorable arcs. After the Ratliff family’s drug-fueled trip to Koh Phangan, Saxon begins to unravel—from tightly wound party boy to someone more curious, more exposed. The result? A character that sparked conversation—and not always the flattering kind.
“I wasn’t prepared for how vocal people were about Saxon,” Patrick says. “People thought he was funny but also hated how much of a douche he was… By the end, they were actually rooting for him. That part felt really good.”
Patrick Schwarzenegger spoke with Awards Focus about stepping into a phenomenon like “The White Lotus”, the unpredictable challenges of shooting in Thailand, and how Mike White’s actor-first sensibility helped shape some of his most revealing on-screen moments.
Awards Focus: What was it like for you seeing the reactions to Saxon as the season unfolded, both the good and chaotic?
Patrick Schwarzenegger: The reaction was pretty wild from my side. I’ve been in other movies and shows. “Gen V” had a big fan base because of “The Boys,” and “The Staircase” had a loyal following from the documentary. But this was on a whole other level. It was something that I was not prepared for. Besides it having a big fan base, and it’s this kind of cultural zeitgeisty moment when the show comes out, it’s the type of show that everyone is very vocal about with the theories and with characters and all these different things.
So, I think I was at first taken aback by how vocal people were about Saxon and not loving him. Thinking that he’s funny but also hating how much of a douche and a character this guy was. Mike White is too rich a writer, too smart, to have someone who’s kind of one-note. For how many people really did not enjoy him, it allowed for a larger arc and for people to really come around to root for him, which was also surprising to me, but also that part felt a lot better. That part was well received, and I enjoyed how much people enjoyed my character.
AF: How did the Ratliff family come together? Were you doing chemistry reads together?
Schwarzenegger: We didn’t do any chemistry reads. I didn’t know anybody else who was going to be on the show when I was auditioning. They were very hush-hush about everything. Then, it wasn’t until I signed on that I found out who was playing my little brother, my little sister, and who was playing my mom. I immediately texted Parker Posey and Antonio Campos, who did “The Staircase”, because that was the only person that I had worked with before. Then, immediately, we started to connect via Zoom with the other cast members and people in our family to try to create the family dynamic, try to understand what kind of a relationship we were going for, what our accents were going to sound like, so at least we had an idea.
We also didn’t do table reads. We didn’t do large rehearsals, really. That wasn’t a lot of time spent on rehearsing. Mike just flings you in the moment and likes to capture what he gets.
AF: You are all thrown together by the time you get to Thailand, and living in the same accommodations. What was it like meeting all the cast and jumping into that first scene together?
Schwarzenegger: It was nerve-wracking going to this foreign country, and you’re so far away from home and family, and you don’t know anybody on set, and you’re living in this beautiful hotel with the cast and the crew that you don’t know. It’s kind of like the first day of school feeling. The first day of actually filming was also nerve-wracking because we had like two weeks being there, and you start to get to know some people, and you’re going into the acting. The whole thing was an amazing learning experience. They do it in such a unique way.
AF: I spoke to Natasha Rothwell about how the production schedule was unpredictable because of the weather in Thailand. Was that true for you?
Schwarzenegger: I think I was the only cast member who was a regular and the only one who did not have a month or weeks off. There was one time I was very close to having a month off, and then the weather changed, and I ended up working one day each week for the next four weeks. That’s the nature of it. We’re not filming in a studio, and we’re filming a lot of it outdoors, and it’s the aesthetics of Thailand, and you’re out on the boat and you’re out on the beach, and Mike wants it to look a certain way. So, if it starts raining, they start switching things around because they’re able to. Everyone’s there, and they can just be like, “Hey, Patrick, we need you to come in and do this, and we’re going to switch into a bedroom scene.” You’re there and you’re getting paid, and that’s your job to go and work. Having off days there were amazing as well because you were in a five-star hotel on the beach in Thailand.
AF: Did Mike White have any specific references or inspirations for Saxon, or was there room for you to interpret him?
Schwarzenegger: I would say both. When we first had our first Zoom, Mike asked if I’d seen the first and second seasons. And I was like, of course. Yeah. He was like, “Okay, well, this is like the third iteration of the Jake Lacy and Theo James character, so now it’s going to be you.” Mike would always say Saxon was his favorite part because it was this guy who was really just over the top and had no filter, and you just love to watch him and laugh at him. But then there was also something weird going on behind the eyes, and all these different things that he wanted. Then, I kind of curated and built it from there, trying to understand what he was looking for. And a lot of the times I did some really great work, and there were times that Mike would come out and hone it in, and ask to try it a different way. That’s the benefit of having an amazing director, but also the director that’s the writer and the producer, and he really is opinionated, has a 360 view of what he is looking for, but then he allows you to bring your ideas.
AF: How did you also start to develop Saxon’s physicality and his walk?
Schwarzenegger: When I did “The Staircase”, Antonio Campos had us work with a physicality instructor, someone who helped with our body language. I found that very helpful. Then it was when I got out here, when I got out to Thailand to do Saxon, it was Parker [Posey] that I was sitting with at dinner, and she was all hunched over and it’s so free flowing, and she was like, “What part of your body does Saxon lead with?” And I didn’t know. I had to think about that for a second. And she was like, “You have to know what part of the body he leads with.” I told her he probably is leading with his penis and she was like, “Yeah, that, I love that. You need to build the character around that.” So, I started to think about it more and more, and then I showed up on the first day, and it was a walking scene by the pool, and Mike was like, “You’re not walking rich enough. You don’t look like you’re rich enough.” So, I put more movement into the shoulders and just kind of a little arch in the back and led with my penis, and that became the walk. Mike thought it was so funny how it was like Connor McGregor-esque, how he kind of struts into the octagon.
AF: Saxon goes through a turning point after the Koh Phanang trip. What conversations went into the depth of Saxon’s changes, and showed a different side of him after the trip?
Schwarzenegger: That was like the death of who we knew Saxon as and who he thought he was. We did a lot of different things from that first episode, after his hair’s all messed up and he’s still drunk. He used to be very polished and buttoned. Now he’s undone and messy. Then, in the last three episodes, we tried to make him humanized and better-looking with the wardrobe. We did more well-fitted pants and pulled back his hair more. Then, with my physicality, I did less of the walking and more hunched over like the listener, someone who was listening to Amy Lou’s character as opposed to being there instead as the one who was in charge in the room. So, there were just some minor changes of how we wanted the character to look and to feel and to be a little bit more open. It’s a credit to the specific teams, the hair department, and wardrobe, because they were so helpful, and it was a team effort.
AF: Was there something you learned about yourself playing Saxon that you’ll carry with you in future roles?
Schwarzenegger: That’s a great question. Honestly, every experience is so different working with a different director. I learned so much from working with Mike White and his perspective and point of view, and understanding of a character. It was never having a preconceived idea of what was going to happen in the scene, and just being ready to go with the flow. A lot of the time with Mike, it was the last take that was used, and he was constantly making you change and adapt and do something that you didn’t think of to get a different type of performance. It was usually that last area that you got to. So sometimes it’s like your first idea, your first thought about what the character should do, is not always the one.
AF: How do you think Mike, also being an actor, was valuable in those moments when he was giving direction?
Schwarzenegger: It helps tremendously because he comes out and he talks to you. You can watch him processing his notes, and he understands how you want to be talked to. Everybody has nerves on set. Everybody is always questioning whether they did the scene right and if the director liked it. He knows those insecurities. He knows what it’s like to be an actor. He knows how to come over and articulate his point of view. It’s a game changer. I hope that every actor in the world gets to work with someone like Mike White. He knows when things are working and he knows when things are not working.