The nepotism discourse in Hollywood is as strong as ever and expanding in unexpected ways. Anyone related to another star has piped up–from Brooke Shields' daughter (who has feelings on the topic) to Ethan and Maya Hawke's opinion of each other entering the chat. But then there are people outside of the familial realm, like Amanda Seyfried, defending nepobabies. As the conversation continues to develop, Arnold Schwarzenegger highlighted a positive to his son, Patrick, in regards to staying true to the family name.
The father-son celeb pair stopped by Variety to participate in the actors on actors segment. During their talk, Patrick Schwarzenegger's stint on the 2025 TV guide’s hit White Lotus (which is available to stream with a Max subscription) came up. Along with it, Patrick explained how having an A-list celebrity name comes with a lot of projected perceptions that bleed into every project, Mike White’s included. He also shared that he considered an alternative name to not be associated with his iconic parents:
I feel it in multiple different ways. Mike White 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.
It seems that regardless of who you’re related to, Hollywood can still be a hard place to find your own ground. To have the Terminator and Maria Shriver as mom and dad is a tall order to prove yourself outside of the connections. Thankfully for the young Schwarzenegger, his role in White Lotus showcased he’s got the chops to make it (his eating habits in Thailand may want to be left behind though).
Arnold Schwarzenegger shared he was pleased that his son didn’t switch to an alias so that he could take credit for the rising star’s career. He then equated Patrick to one of the best multi-generation families of performers, the Curtis’. Specifically, he meant Jamie Lee Curtis, who has continued to rise well beyond the family name. In his words, it doesn’t matter who you call your parents (or any other family member); as long as you have talent, that’s what will take you places, Arnold shared:
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.
What a sweet sentiment, and to share it publicly is doubly lovely. But the pairing of pinning his son’s talents on the family gene pool feels about right for a dad to interject. Truly, though, the True Lies actor's kind words of his costar, as well as always showing up for the Gen V alum, including the time he enthusiastically hyped Patrick's risque scene, is a lighter side of the nepoworld we should see more of.
It seems like just the beginning for the 31-year-old, and it’ll be fun to see where his and his family name take him. I, for one, would love to see both Schwarzeneggers in something together someday.
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