After years of being best known as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son, 2025 has marked a breakthrough year for actor Patrick Schwarzenegger. With the success of The White Lotus season 3, Patrick has finally carved out his own identity in the entertainment industry.
Yet, his rise to fame has not been without challenges — even prompting him at one point to consider changing his surname.
In a candid conversation with his father Arnold Schwarzenegger for Variety’s Actors on Actors 2025 edition, Patrick reflected on the pressure of having famous parents and how it influenced his career choices.
When Arnold asked if the Schwarzenegger name had ever felt like an obstacle, Patrick responded, “I feel it in multiple different ways. Mike White (creator of The White Lotus) said that it comes with baggage, the idea that when you have successful parents like I do with you and Mom, there’s an added level of what other people think. Mike was worried about, if he cast me, what other people would think.”
“Which they did — they did care about that; people said I got the role because of you and Mom. There were times earlier in my career where I was wondering, does it make sense to go under an alias? It took a while for me to get to a point where I was less worried about living in your shadow versus wanting to do it the way I thought I should do it.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger, who began his career as a bodybuilder before becoming a global movie icon through roles in Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator, acknowledged the pressures his son must have faced.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Arnold was among the biggest stars in the world, alongside the likes of Tom Cruise and Sylvester Stallone, a legacy that inevitably cast a long shadow over Patrick’s early career.
Reacting to his son's remarks, Arnold said, “I’m glad you kept the name, because now I can take credit. You joined a very short list of people; You know, Jamie Lee Curtis — I think she’s one of the greatest actors in history. If you show you have the substance, you can get rid of the whole idea of nepotism.”
Patrick, the son of Arnold and journalist Maria Shriver, began acting in the 2000s with minor roles in films like Stuck in Love, Grown Ups 2, and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.
He landed his first lead role in the 2018 romantic drama Midnight Sun and later gained attention for his part in Gen V. But it was his acclaimed performance in The White Lotus that established him as a rising star in his own right.