Patrick Schwarzenegger has spent The White Lotus press cycle fielding questions about being a nepo baby, but head's up: he isn't the only actor with famous parents on the show's third season. There are reportedly at least three castmembers (of a huge ensemble, to be clear) who come from acting families—but let's kick things off with Patrick, who would like everyone to know that he's done 10 years of acting classes, tyvm!
Patrick Schwarzenegger
Patrick is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, and has hit back against claims that he got the role of Saxon based on his parents.
“I know there are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is,” he told The Sunday Times. “They’re not seeing that I’ve had ten years of acting classes, put on [high] school plays every week, worked on my characters for hours on end or the hundreds of rejected auditions I’ve been on.”
“Of course, it’s frustrating and you can get boxed in and you think at that moment, I wish I didn’t have my last name," he added. "But that’s a small moment. I would never trade my life with anyone. I’m very fortunate to have the life and family that I have, the parents I have and the lessons and values they’ve instilled in me.”
In Patrick's defense, he is crushing it as Saxon and clearly nailed his audition.
Sam Nivola
Sam plays Saxon's younger brother, Lochlan, and is the son of Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola. With two successful actors for parents, it's hardly a surprise that Sam followed in their footsteps—though apparently his parents weren't here for it.
Sam told The New Yorker back in 2022 (while starring in White Noise), “My parents had always been really adamant about us not getting into that industry. They were kind of pissed off. But they were, like, ‘Noah Baumbach is a legend.’”
Charlotte Le Bon
Charlotte plays Chloe, the French-Canadian (not French!) girlfriend of Greg, and happens to be the daughter of Canadian actor Brigitte Paquette. Brigitte isn't super well-known in the States, so obviously Charlotte is the least nepo-y of all these babies.
