White Lotus star says character has ‘loving’ dynamic with brother as fans speculate incest storyline
Patrick Schwarzenegger spoke of how his character Saxon is "trying to groom his younger brother" to be more like him.
By Gary Grimes
The White Lotus star Patrick Schwarzenegger has spoken about the “odd” and “weird” relationship dynamic that exists between his character and his brother.
[Spoilers follow] The third series of the show, which kicked off last week, has left fans positively frothing at the mouth thanks to the inclusion of a nude scene in which Schwarzenegger bares all in the first episode.
The circumstances of his characters’ nudity has left some fans uneasy however, as Schwarzenegger’s Saxon in seen getting out of bed naked, next to his younger brother Lochlan, to watch porn in the bathroom.
Earlier in the scene he quizzes Lochlan on what sort of porn he likes to watch, much to his brother’s confusion. He is also heard speculating on their sister’s sex life at one point in the episode.
— out of context the white lotus (@oocwhitelotus) February 17, 2025
In a recent interview with Radio Times, Schwarzenegger has spoken about the dynamic between the brothers, saying: “I think that one of the things that we worked on as a group, as a family, was to try to create that dynamic: the closeness, but the oddness, the weirdness [that] we thought was normal, the older brother to younger brother relationship.
“But I think that Saxon actually really does care about his brother. He cares about his sister. He loves his mum and his dad. He looks up to his father like no one else.”
“And I think that the relationship with his brother – although it’s very odd and weird, which is what Mike [White, creator] wanted,” Schwarzenegger continued. “It’s still very loving at the same time.”
Schwarzenegger, who is the son of Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger, went on to say: “I mean, it’s just that Saxon has this false perception and idea of what he thinks makes a man and who he thinks he is, and he’s trying to groom his younger brother to become that.
“He doesn’t want anything for him to do with his sister, who he thinks is completely lost and is out of her mind that she’s even attempting to look at Buddhism and be in this foreign country – away from America and the life that we live.”
The actor has previously appeared in American Sports Story and opposite Colin Firth and Toni Collete in The Staircase.