'White Lotus' Star Patrick Schwarzenegger Reflects on His Controversial Role and Giving Off 'American Psycho' Vibes

This article contains spoilers for Season 3 of "The White Lotus."

For "White Lotus" star Patrick Schwarzenegger, playing the conflicted character Saxon Ratliff has been about leaning into "uncomfortable" material, which may open the door to even wilder roles.

In a profile on the actor, C Magazine recounted that Schwarzenegger's Saxon is a member of a prosperous family that may be headed for catastrophe. The publication noted that "the Ratliffs are typical White Lotus guests: Wealthy, full of secrets, and terrible at communicating."

Even by writer-director Mike White's standards, though, the show's current season is a shocker. Season 1 introduced vast swaths of TV viewers to rimming in a gay sex scene between out actors Murray Bartlett and Lukas Gage; Season 2 gave the internet the unforgettable sight of English hunk Leo Woodall, as bad boy Jack, plowing his character's putative uncle, played by Tom Hollander.

Season 3, set in Thailand, takes things even further. "By the sixth episode, Saxon is contemplating the nature of his apparent sexual desire for his younger brother, Lochlan (played by Sam Nivola)," C Magazine said.

Things get so wild on the show that Saxon ends up in bed next to Lochlan as the younger brother loses his virginity during a drug-fueled night of partying. And that's not all the brothers get up to. The revelry leaves Saxon deep in doubt about his own self image.

"Saxon entered the show with all this confidence," Schwarzenegger told C Magazine. "Now he finds himself the most lost and confused of everyone."

Added the 31-year-old actor: "When you join 'The White Lotus,' you know Mike is going to push boundaries. That's why he's a genius."

"As an actor, playing the most uncomfortable scenes is the most fun because they are the biggest challenge," Schwarzenegger went on to muse. "I'm not saying that scene was the most fun, but it's fun to push yourself and put yourself in uncomfortable positions because then you learn."

As for what his misadventures will mean for Saxon, "I struggled with this," the actor confided. "I was looking for a big change for Saxon and played a scene near the end like that. Afterward, Mike asked, 'Why are you doing that? This show takes place over a week.... In my show, some characters change fully, some not at all, some leave more fucked up than at the beginning. That's life. Not everyone has an epiphany or a moment of change.'"

Patrick Schwarzenegger – the son of action hero and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger – has been a pro actor for two decades, but it's his steamy turn on the popular HBO series that's skyrocketing him to fame. His prospects seem unlimited at the moment... although, he admits, there is at least one dream role he seems unlikely to land: Wall Street bro and serial killer Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino's reported remake of "American Psycho."

"The comment I get most about 'The White Lotus' is that Saxon gives off Patrick Bateman vibes," Schwarzenegger told C Magazine, adding that playing the role "would be a dream come true."

"Luca does great young male roles. I love his other films, like 'Queer,' 'Challengers,' and 'Call Me by Your Name,'" he said.

As far as portraying Saxon, though, the young actor told Men's Heath that White's direction during the show's filming was all about making him as horny, bro-y, and wealthy as Schwarzenegger could manage.

"Saxon leads with his penis," Schwarzenegger summarized. "I would walk, and Mike would scream from over the camera, 'Walk richer! You don't look rich enough! Be more rich! Rich, rich, rich!'"

"This guy's a character," Schwarzenegger added, "and if I just walked how I would normally walk on the beach, it doesn't play the same way as if I'm strutting like I'm on a catwalk."

That vibe was established early on: In the season's first episode, Saxon, sharing a bedroom with Lochlan, casually walked across the room naked, iPad in hand, to watch porn and masturbate in the bathroom.

Originally, we was supposed to be wearing boxers for that scene, but he decided to bare it all instead.

"I was like, 'I'm just going to do this naked,'" Schwarzenegger recalled. "I think it's better because it's such a power move. It showed how Saxon just does not have a worry in the world or care about what anyone else thinks."

It also lent a little more spice to hints that something steamy might be brewing between the brothers.

"[I]t's not like he's covering himself up with his iPad," Schwarzenegger noted. "He just slowly struts to the bathroom. It gives you a real grip on what their relationship is like."

"And when he's asking Lochlan, 'What kind of porn do you like?' he's so sincere and earnest with his question," the actor went on to say. "It makes the audience ask, 'Is he serious?' If I'd delivered the line in a joking way, it wouldn't be as bewildering or as suspicious."

"There's a lot of dialogue I would cringe at - that I do cringe at, as Patrick - but it fits so perfectly with who Saxon is," Schwarzenegger said. "Pretty much everything he says is just absurd, but it matches who he is. It matches his personality, it matches how he walks, how he dresses, how he acts, and every way he carries himself. That's the brilliance of Mike."

The young actor has been famously reticent about watching himself on the show in the company of his superstar dad and mother Maria Shriver. (He's predicted more than once that there may be moments when he'll need to duck out of the room during some of his more sizzling scenes.)

"I'm nervous about how everyone will react," Schwarzenegger told C Magazine. "Anytime you're putting yourself out there in a vulnerable way, people can be judgmental. But I trust Mike's vision in pushing the story forward."