Happy Sad Confused - Patrick Schwarzenegger

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

Patrick Schwarzenegger knows his last name precedes him but he's been putting in the work and now with a choice role in THE WHITE LOTUS, he's making his own name. UPCOMING EVENT! Nathan Lane -- March 20th in New York -- Tickets here SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Quince -- Go to Quince.com/happysadco for 365 day returns and free shipping! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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My fanfic, by the way, about your childhood is Arnold screaming, there is no bathroom to you when he has to discipline you. Did it ever happen? Did he ever say it? He loves saying his one-liners. Oh, he does, I know. Yeah, you don't even ask for them and he says it. You know, he's so corny with it.

He'll just scream them out to you and you're like, dude. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey, guys, it's Josh here. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. There's Lucy, if you're watching on video, she's ready for a walk. But before that, I'm going to tell you about today's episode.

Get her staring at me with Patrick Schwarzenegger. I always love it when we have an actor meeting a moment, and that's what this is. We have the White Lotus just starting its new season, season three, and Patrick has a plum choice part, a Saxon. Not the nicest, coolest guy on the planet, but also not without shades of gray. You'll see. um yeah so this is a nice nice chat with patrick who hasn't really done a lot of long-form conversations like this before so privileged he chose to do happy say i confuse today i think you're going to dig this chat with a young actor who is just kind of like ascending to another level before we get

to patrick though uh the usual bits and bobs i want to tell you guys about as always if you support happy say i confused if you want to support us rather go over to patreon dot com slash happy say i confused. If you like what I do, if you like the kind of podcast we do, we're making more stuff. We're trying to make more. More comedy bits, more special series, more, more, more of everything. Over at Patreon, you get early access, you get exclusive merch, you get autographed posters, you get discount codes. We try to give you a lot of bank for your buck over there. So check it out, patreon.com slash happy, sad, confused. Let's us make more stuff for you. our only live event I can tout still

and I'm itching to tout some more but we're not quite locked in but we I promise you there are some really cool ones to come is March 20th in New York City me and Nathan Lane at Symphony Space a first time guest on happy say I can confuse but we have a ton to talk about this man has had quite the career

and film and TV and stage so I'm really really excited for that get your tickets now the information is in the show notes okay a little more on Patrick and then I'll let you enjoy our conversation um look we know the name schwarzenegger we know the lineage he is of course the son of maria schreiber and arles schwarzenegger um and he knows you'll see you'll hear you're seeing this conversation he wears that pressure that responsibility that privilege very well um i really like this guy i had never chatted with him before but you'll see he's a solid dude and um he's making the right moves now

I think. You know, you've seen him in recent years and things like The Staircase and Gen V, American Sports Story. And it really, I feel like it's clicking in a different way now thanks to this, you know, I feel like when you get the call to be on White Lotus, it is, it's the call to get right now for any actor of kind of any age route, to be honest. So this was, as I said, the right time to chat with him. This is a great chat about how he's navigated his career thus far, where he sees himself going forward in the future. future. And yeah, the weight of, you know, being the son of one of the biggest movie stars in the history of film. So all of that and more in this conversation. I know you guys are going to dig it. Here is me and Patrick Schwarzenegger. Mr. Patrick Schwarzenegger, finally on Happy Second Fees. This isn't the moment to have you on the pod, Patrick. You're in the middle. How does it feel to be in the middle of the zeitgeist? This is a nice little moment.

How are you feeling? It's great, man. It's been a really. it's been a whirlwind of a week but it's exciting I'm really pleased that the show is doing so well and that there's you know such great reviews and you know it was a dream of mine to be part of it so it's been great

yeah you don't want to be the one that's like ruined the White Lotus like I literally just had Theo James on last week last week and he was talking about how the only pressure like it's great to be on a show that has a built in audience and everyone's expecting to be great but at the same time you're like wait, what if I'm the one that fucks it up? Like if you were the, the outlet, like the one that just... Yeah, the season they don't talk about.

The season they... Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that it... There's definitely, I mean, that's like the pro and con, right? Is that you're joining a show that has a lot of brand equity. It has a huge following. And, you know, people are very critical of the show. And that's also the pro that there's all these people there ready to watch it.

And the con is that they, you know, they judge it in a harsher way and that they're quick to judge. And if you're the season that it's not good, that sucks. And but, you know, that's why we do this. It's to be on a show like this and to work with someone like Mike White and to have that trust and that kind of, you know, director with such rich and creative writing. And he's just a genius. So, I mean, it never really crossed my mind that it was going to be. that it wouldn't work, but it crosses your mind of what, what if it didn't?

Well, it's going to work because even honestly, the stuff that Mike's done over the years that hasn't, for whatever reason, resonated with the audience, is still awesome. Whether you're looking at, like, enlightened or, I mean, I'm quite a bit older than you, but I remember way back when watching Chuck and Buck, which I don't know if you went back and saw, and I would recommend maybe folks after they see the storylines in this season, Chuck and Buck might even make more, you know, be more relevant. But, like, he's always at such a singular, singular voice. And I find it so funny to see, like, where he came from, like, kind of, like, on the fringes of, of, like, film and TV.

And now he's at the center of culture. Like, the culture, like, caught up with Mike White. We figured it out. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm a huge fan of School of Rock. Of course. Come on.

Kniebly was, like, that was my jam growing up. Yeah. Totally. Okay. So how soon after you get this gig? Do you add the White Lotus theme song to your playlist? Is it in the gym playlist? Well, I was a huge fan of the first one, and then the second one became like this cultural, like, pop sensation of like, you know, Tiesto remixed it and it was like this huge thing.

And sometimes you would be on set and you would be doing a scene where like maybe you're walking or you're doing another scene like right when you finish your dialogue. And all of a sudden from behind camera in his chair, Mike would just be like, you know like just add it and you could start cracking up it was really funny and i would break character i would just start laughing at him um but i think one of the things because i think it's so like i just i'm i'm in awe of what mike does of he continues to challenge himself by changing everything yeah and like the music is the easiest thing to to look at because the first season was such a hit like the music was everywhere and then he made it different with the second season out of the opera kind of Italian opera side of things

and made it a different kind of beat drop. And that was a massive success. And the third one, this one, I remember asking him about it and Dave Bernad, the producer. And he was like, I want to do something really different. I want to do something that's like this whole season is way darker. It's way richer. It's way more dramatic. It investigates death and religion. I want it to be like, you know, something that's a lot more moody and dark. And when I first heard it, I was like, oh my God, this is so different. And the song after playing it, I've heard it for months now. So, you know, the consumers have just started to hear it.

It's grown on me tremendously, but it's, it was just, it's completely different. And I just respect that he's so, uh, just uncomfortable with being comfortable. Like just being, you know, kind of at that, that moment of he knows that it works and he already knew that. And he's like, why would I do the same thing that works? Like, I want to challenge himself. And it's just like, it's, it's really respectful that he, you know, respectable, I should say that he's continuing to push himself. I mean, it's. Yeah, and just being so, like, judicious in like, you know, you could imagine certain iterations of the show being, like, carrying over, like, three or four or five, like, cast members and being so, like, very specific.

If it serves the story, if it's going to make sense. Yeah. And he brings them along. Otherwise, no go. Yeah. I mean, look, you've had some nice successes in your career, but is the phone call when you finally get this one? Like, is that the moment so far in your career where it's like this feels like a, this is a moment? Yeah, I guess probably, I mean, for me, every time I've gotten a job, it's been a, you know, really beautiful kind of great moment for me.

I guess the first time that I felt like a real shift in my career was when I got the staircase, which was the show I did with HBO and, and, you know, Colin Firth and Julia Pinoche and Tony Collette, Dane DeHont. It was like all these, Michael Strova, all these Emmy Award winning and Oscar award winning actors and then me. And that was kind of the moment where I was like, I just was kind of in shock and in awe that a director, Antonio Campos, took a chance with me and just was willing to give me the opportunity to work with these high caliber actors and actresses. And but that show was something that it had a big fan following for the staircase.

like it had because of the documentary and stuff like that, but it's not on the scale of White Lotus. And same with Gen V, I think was a really cool moment for me, you know, being part of the boys universe. That had a very loyal and big fan base. But White Lotus was the first time where I got, I was part of something that I was like, I was also kind of fan-girling over myself for it.

Right, right, right, right. I was a huge fan of the show. And so was my fiance, so was my family, so it was like my friend. So it was this kind of like this moment that I kind of like, yeah, just when I got that message from Mike and from the team, I just, I literally just, you know, prayed and thank God. And I started crying.

And it was just like this, I just couldn't believe that I was going to be part of this, this universe and get to work with Mike and with all these different actors and actresses. And there's part of it that, like, at that moment where you're so excited and so happy. And then there's that quick kind of like gulp of, oh, my God, I'm going to be part of this. You know, and I haven't read the script yet. So I was just like, I only knew the audition. And I was like, okay. And then I was like, oh, boy, I have to read these scripts.

Like, what's going to happen? You know, what do I do? And then I read the scripts and I was like, oh, boy, this is what I'm doing. And then, you know, but then it's like, yeah, so there's a little bit of that nerve that catches up with you of like, yeah, wow, this is a big, big moment, a big show. Now I got to get to work. Yeah, I'll accomplish it. Okay, so we'll get to Saxon and the character for a bit. but you mentioned getting emotional.

It was so sweet to see you share the video of you sharing the news with your family. Oh my gosh. Like that's, that's, what was it like to like watch mom, watch this react? And obviously it's like they felt they knew what this meant for you. And to just see you all kind of like share in that moment is such a beautiful thing. It was. It was a really sweet moment. And it was like my, my fiance, we were on a, because it happened the day after Christmas.

So we were actually on like a Christmas trip together and I had not told anybody except for my fiancé for the first couple days. And we were at lunch and they were starting, they kept questioning why I was acting weird and like felt that I was acting weird. And I didn't want to say, but eventually I was like, okay, I'm just going to say it. And my fiance knew this moment was coming. So she put the phone up to film it. But then my mom screamed that she puts it down and like got so awkward. and then she brought it back up and started videoing it again. But yeah, I mean, it's always nice, you know, to share a moment with people that you love and that are your closest kind of companions.

And it's really sweet to see them root for you. You know, I think there was this, this, I actually saw this video the other day from Simon Seneck that was like, he was trying to define how he knew someone was a best friend. And it was a moment that he said he felt. comfortable sharing an achievement or a big moment and that they were genuinely excited for him. And it was not someone that he called when it was just, you know, he said he had a lot of people that he could call when there was something bad or when he was feeling down or something like that. But he didn't feel like that he had that many people that he could call and tell them that they got that big promotion or that big, you know, moment that the other person was going

to be genuinely so happy and proud of him. And I thought that after kind of watching that video, I was like, it's just so great to have, yeah, people that really support you and want the best for you. And it was a genuine just reaction from my mom and my sister of how happy they were for me and also happy because it's their favorite show. So, amazing. Would, would dad have had as emotional a reaction if we caught it on video? No, he, what enough? He literally would have been like, White Lotus, what is that? Are you doing a car commercial or what is it?

You know, how much are you getting paid? I was going to say, what's the contract? Let's get down to brass tacks. He doesn't, he's not a big, uh, he now watches the show because of me. And he, he called me the other day after and was like, you know, raving about it. He had never seen the show prior. Um, it just takes a lot for him to, A, to sit down and be to watch something. So he doesn't watch much TV at all.

Um, but now he's really into it. And he thinks it's, he just thinks it's hilarious. Um, but when I told him first when I got it, he just, yeah, he didn't, he didn't know. the caliber of it. All right, so let's talk about this guy. Saxon, I don't know if there's ever been in the history of mankind a chill dude named Saxon. That kind of gives away the game right there a little bit.

You know, did he, I guess you were saying you hadn't read scripts when you actually officially got the part. So what did you know and how was it revealed to you like the layers of this guy? It's kind of like, you know, a douchebags, certainly by all intents and purposes, but hopefully with a little more depth as well. Yeah, it was. I don't know. I'm just putting this up a little. It was when it was

brought to me as an audition, it was this, I think the log, like the character description was there was a one sentence description. I think it said like a Southern finance bro that works for his dad

and is a total flirt or something like that. Right. And I've talked about this before because I think Mike does this in a very purposeful way. And same with Dave Bernard and same with the casting director is that I think they just give you a little snippet as to what their character is and they don't give you a script, they don't give you anything, and they kind of want you to interpret what you think the character would be and what he's like.

And so when I did the audition, I just kind of, you know, I took a little bit of a swing as to what he was going to be. And I know with Mike's, you know, with White Lotus and stuff, he likes these characters to be, yes the douchebag but also kind of funny and fun and and also he wants anybody to be able to be the killer you know he wants like he wants the audience constantly guessing you know who's who and what's what and what's going on and all these different things and and so i just the the first seconds of the audition i just played this kind of like weird kind of kind of creepy but kind of funny of just like i fucking and checking out the camera uh which i talked about before and it was just kind of like this funny, uncomfortable moment of the character, just building this character

with the camera there in front of you, and then going into the audition scene of hitting on these cougars and whatnot. But that's all I knew about the character, was just that little sentence logline. So without revealing the whole game of where this season's going, I mean, the seeds are there from the start of like this, the family dynamic, there's something off here. There's some, there's some interesting things at play here. We're normal. We're normal. Parker's line, and that is so funny. Totally. So how is that revealed to you of kind of literally are you reading the scripts in real time?

Like you must have had the same WTF moment like I had watching with my wife on the couch, literally talking to the screen being like, am I watching this? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, I did. I read the scripts and I had that moment of like, oh my God, this is, yeah, this is just getting insane and absurd and also hilarious. and just crazy and yeah I mean without ruining stuff it just yeah it gets it gets white lotus

it gets very Mike White and very insane and and you know I think I read it in just real time I just I got one episode to the next to the next I just went through them all and I mean is that exciting for you as an actor like it must be like a little scary but also exciting

like oh we're going there we're pushing this and yeah yeah it is it's exciting and I took the I like kind of skim some parts of the script. I also did not read a lot of the script because I'm such an avid fan and consumer of the show. I didn't want to know everything because one of the cool things about the show is like your character and your kind of group may not mesh with another group. You might not overlap.

And so I wanted to know as least as possible because I didn't want to, I wanted to be able to watch it in like a fun way as a consumer. But yeah, when you when I read it, it was like, anytime that there's a challenging or uncomfortable scenes or uncomfortable directions for the character or any of these things, like it's something that we also crave as actors because it's a challenge. It's something that it's kind of like that, I don't know, like maybe as a sports player when you're down by two points and you have the possession of the ball at the end or you have your moment to shine, I guess, if you will. It's like a nerve-wracking moment that's testing you. you as a in your in your career um and it's a moment for you to kind of prove to yourself and to

um others and so i think yeah when you read scripts there's always parts that are scary and and um that are pushing you but they're also exciting you know it's like when i read the staircase the the whole opening 10 pages is my character showing up at the at the house when you know my mom is dead at the bottom of the staircase and it's me walking through and it's a oneer on me the whole time and finding her dead at the bottom and my dad collapsed crying and me picking him up and I read it and I was like oh my god I'm going to have to do this 10 minute oneer with Colin Firth like that's what I'm supposed to act opposite of you know like I was like and Tony colette there on the ground I was like this is insane I'm so scared to do this and and but at the same

time it was like when I done it it was such a great moment for me to kind of just to push myself and to grow I guess as an actor and as a as a person And so, yeah, I will say I'm so happy. Look, I mean, I love binging shows as much as anybody. But, like, this is, this is shows like this remind us why the week-to-week experience is so fun to kind of like go along the ride with an audience and see them experience in real time. It's the worst thing ever, but it's the best thing ever, you know? It's like, you watch one episode and you're like, it's so annoying HBO does this. You have to wait a full week to watch another episode.

And then you kind of do it and you're so happy that you have the show to watch for eight weeks and it's like it's spread out. But in the moment you're like, I just want to watch it all. Just like give it to me all. It's so annoying. And then you're like so thankful that it, that you have the time to watch it. Did you have those shows growing up? I don't know the timeline. Like it was like lost your show.

Oh, lost was huge, breaking bad. You know, I was a, well, more recently succession or Game of Thrones or. I mean there's definitely fun there's parts that are amazing about having a show to binge but a show like this is so made to be watched week after week because I think that Mike is so smart of how he just kind of throws the fishing pole out there

and slowly reels you in and wants you to converse with other people like the most fun thing is that I'm when I go to the office or that I'm home with you know with friends is all of them asking me questions I think you know, I think this person does this and I think this is what's going to happen and this next episode, I think this and this and this. And so it does a really good job of keeping it

current for those eight weeks. It's talked about beyond just the show. And I think that that's what it does such a great job of, of just slowly giving clues and reeling people in and letting them have this dialogue outside of the Sunday nights. Platinum, $400 in annual credits for travel and dining means you not only satisfy your travel bug, but your taste buds too. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply. The twisted tale of Amanda Knox is an eight-episode Hulu Original Limited series that blends gripping pacing with emotional complexity,

offering a dramatized look as it revisits the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox for the tragic murder of Meredith Kircher and the relentless media storm that followed. The twisted tale of Amanda Knox is now streaming only on Disney Plus. Since we have the luxury of a little time, I want to go back with you for a bit because, you know, I've heard you interviews, but I haven't heard you do a ton of kind of like stuff about, fully about your background, etc. Officially it's Patrick Arnold, Schreiber, Schwarzenegger. Your parents didn't make it easy for you to hide. Like that name is going to jump out for a number of reasons to the public.

What's been like, I mean, it's a long conversation in and of itself just to talk about the weight of all of that. But like you reckoning with what that name means to people. I mean, have you wrestled with that at different times in your life of like, gosh, I wish I had a different name? This is just like there's a baggage, good and bad that goes with this. Give me a sense of your journey with like who you are through. both sides of your family. Gosh, that would be like a full... I know, it's a five-hour conversation, but...

It's a deep conversation of like, yeah, I guess the easiest way to put it is like, I've wrestled with it, yeah, immensely. I mean, I think that I've wrestled with it and there's pros and there's cons, just as there is with everybody in life. You know, I mean, people always ask me that, you know, I guess one of the questions I get the most is,

what's it like to have these people as your parents? And the other one is like, do you wish you didn't have this, you know, last name? And I guess, you know, my answer is that I, not that you're asking it, but I'll tell you, it's just that, you know, like I, yeah, I wouldn't change anything in the world. It's like I feel very fortunate to have the life that I have. And, you know, for my parents both working extremely hard to give me the life and, you know, the health and the wealth that we have and the education and all these days. different things. But yeah, there's also sides of it that are, you know, a downside, like that

video, for example, you know, there's people, when I opened that video or people send it to me on Instagram and people are like, oh, it's so sweet that they, you know, root for each other, whatever. Oh, I love this video until I found out it was just, you know, an Epo kid getting his, you know, another moment or I really rooted for this video. And then I found out it was, you know, Patrick Schwarzenegger and he just got it probably because of X, Y, and Z. You know, so that there's, there's those things as well, which I can't control and I'll never be able to control everyone's opinions about me. But yeah, I think that it's, well, it's a, it's complicated for a thousand reasons. And it's like, it's so funny. I keep having these conversations with, with, I mean,

I just talked to Maya Hawke and John David Washington and Jack Quaid and all these folks. And it's, and it's, it's, it's like a, something you kind of have to reckon with. Because, because, because it's there. And when you walk into an audition room, it's there. And, you know, it feels like it's all about, you know, acknowledging, yes, the privilege and the advantage. And of course that that's a part of it, but it's also like that doesn't keep you at the table. Maybe it gives you, gets you in the door, but it's not going to keep you in that room. Yeah, I, that's exactly right. It's hard to articulate that to people.

And I totally understand it from from their side as well. And there's, it's the same people that would be mad at me if I was, you know, a drug addict or if I was an actor or if I was, you know, got a job at the, you know, at the bank or if I was an agent or if I was a podcaster or what, you know, no matter what, people are going to be upset. And I get it. But it's ultimately what I've found out over the course of my time is that it's a bottomless hole to try to fill that void of me trying to convince everyone, you know? And it's, it took a long time to get to that point. I think what I realized was just really trying to focus on like in my internal happiness and what was making me happy and feel fulfilled and feel, you know, successful.

And all these different things was what was paramount. And that's what I really had to focus on. And, you know, one of the other questions I get asked the most is like, why have you not, why haven't you done a movie with your dad? And that's one of the reasons is just I didn't want to. I really didn't want to work with him because I didn't feel like I would feel happy doing that, whether it was in an amazing movie or not. Like, I just felt like that to me would be, you know, not advancing the career that I wanted to build. And I wouldn't feel like I earned it.

And it becomes the story. And I could imagine, like, at a certain point in your life, maybe that makes sense. But it's like when you're building something from the ground up and you want to build it on your own. Totally. Totally. Like now if he asked me, if there was a cool script that had some sort of father-son thing, you know, like great, I would be, I'd be open to it. But I wanted to feel like I was building my own reputation, my own, you know, career without him in a way. I know everything will be included with him. Everyone will think that. But, you know, I wanted to, for myself. So you mentioned, we were talking about TV you were into. What about on the film side? actors, franchises, what was your bag? Were you a comic book kid? Were you sci-fi, Harry Potter, Star Wars? What was your thing?

Yeah, I mean, growing up, it was, you know, if I were to just like a Friday night growing up as a kid, it was always like comedy, you know? But with, you know, I definitely was a, watched a lot of sci-fi growing up just from like, I guess with my dad, The Terminator and him kind of showcasing different types of movies to us. I took film, film, um, took cinematic arts in college. So I have a major in business and a

minor in cinematic arts and film. So we took history of film. We took a, you know, a whole semester on on Hitchcock and then a whole semester on Spielberg. You watch every single Hitchcock movie, every single Spielberg movie. And it's kind of from one into the next and how Hitchcock influenced Spielberg and from all different areas, um, from suspense to the, to the scores and music and, and, all these different aspects so I kind of grew up watching anything and everything and same with today I mean obviously TV today is way more

is way different than what it was when I was growing up you know when I was in my teens and stuff I think there was maybe like lost was like the only show I was really watching and then obviously when I got into my 20s it was like with the creation with Netflix blowing up and all the streamers the amount of shows that we were hit with and indicted with has grown tremendously

and I feel like you know Now I probably watch just as much TV as I watch of films. So it's a mix, I guess. When did, when would you say? Because like if you look at the resume, there's some early like bits and bobs you're popping in like these are glorified, like extra kind of work I think. Yeah, yeah. Right, right. But like when did in your mind you got get serious and say, I'm going to start auditioning?

I'm going to really go after this. I'm going to do this. I would say I got semi serious when I was about, you know, 18. after doing kind of some theater classes and stuff in school and doing plays. And then I would say once I graduated college is when I got like, you know, serious, about, you know, going into theater school and taking, you know, weekly acting classes. And I've stayed in the same acting school and acting class for the last, it'll be almost 10 years now where we put up a play every Thursday night.

And so I've, I guess my interest has continued. in the film space and in the acting space. And I would say COVID was the moment, like the year of 2020 was like the moment for me where I rethought my whole kind of career and where did I want to go. And that was a moment where I'm like, is this acting thing for me?

Do I want to do this? Do I not? That was another moment for me. And I kind of was looking up to other actors. Like you brought up what other actors and stuff and when I just looked at kind of where my career was it was just like it was something that I was just not happy with and it was partly my own fault of just like going back to that question before of like you know I cared so much about social media I cared so much about how I was perceived that cared so much about all these different things that it just like you know

didn't matter and when I looked at other people's careers that I that I liked they just were doing things that were different than what I was doing, you know, and they weren't focused on, you know, showing people where they were working out or getting a coffee on Instagram. They weren't focused on their, yeah, their social media's or what they're doing. They weren't focused on doing a glitzy, you know, rom-com or whatever movie on Netflix to get, you know, they were focused on doing the character pieces and really doing serious acting roles and so that's kind of when in that COVID my acting teacher kind of said this is a

moment where you're when you're not in the playing field and the whole industry was kind of shut down and she was like you're on the sidelines and although it seems like it sucks to be on the sidelines it's a beautiful time to look at the playing field from another perspective and kind of look at it and see who do you admire and why to admire their careers and to try to base it off of what you really like like success leaves clues and if there's a successful person that you admire, what are the clues? What have they done that have made you admire them? And so I kind of just rethought my whole career and I just had a meeting with my kind of team and I just said, I don't want to do really anything unless it's going to challenge me or push me or

make me a better actor and work with really amazing talented, you know, writers or producers or directors or other actors. And there was a year or two where I didn't really work. And then I worked with Amy Poehler on Moxie, which, you know, for me, was really cool to work with someone like that. And then that's right after that was the staircase. And that was like, that's why I said that was like a real breaking point for me of someone giving me the opportunity and the chance to prove myself in that way. It does, it does, again, from the outside looking in, everything you're saying makes perfect sense because it does feel like there's a shift in like realizing I can be the lead, the second lead in kind of like a whatever that like gets a lot

of views or I can be I can be part of it on. I can take the supporting role and work with the best and learn from the best. Yeah. And that will elevate me. I had zero ego with it. I literally would have done a one day role in the staircase. You know, like I would have done a and I still would like i would i would that's my own fault of like my you know sometimes my agents will say like you sure you want like go up for this is like like i did another movie this last year and i had and i filmed for one day and i worked with pachino my whole scene was with pachino uh and i was like yeah i want to do this i don't care about i'm not doing it for the mind like just to work with him and have a full day in a you know a five minute scene with him it's it's a great learning experience and a

great opportunity for me and yeah and um yeah so going going way back i know this is totally off topic what we're talking about. But how the heck did you end up in an Ariana Grande music video way back when? That's a fun little curiosity nowadays, especially. It is funny. Some people have linked the two this week with Lotus coming out. And people were like, wait, is that the guy from the right there Ariana Grande music video? What is he doing in White Lotus? We're like, what happened? Where's he been for a decade? I've been working, guys. What are you doing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. well it's also funny because you know when you come out with a show like this like white lotus it has such a big fan base and so many viewers but it also shows you like the other stuff that

you've done how many people it's just such a a different level um so people do literally say where has he been for a decade what is he not is the last thing he did right there music video you know and they're like no i've done all these other things but yeah i mean you know some people just don't there's not crossover they don't watch it um but how did i end up in that It was a Scooter Braun actually came to me with that. I had met Scooter and I was doing acting and he was like, do you want to come in for this? Ariana Grande was just starting.

This was like one of her first, I think it was like her second big song or something like that. It was like 10 years ago or more. And so I went and did it. We shot it for two days. and it was kind of like this cool moment. And then she really blew up, blew up after that. Yeah.

It's like going back and looking at like Alexander Scarsguard being in like a Lady Gaga video like way back when. It's like, oh, wait, that guy. Yeah. That's interesting. Yeah. It was a fun. It was a cool experience.

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medium latte, Tim's new protein lattes, protein without all the work at participating restaurants in Canada. Gen V, of course, is all you mentioned is a big moment. And you mentioned I heard somewhere. So initially you actually went up for Homelander for the boys. What do you remember of that audition? I'm just curious i mean tony star does an amazing job but i'm just curious what you're oh i'm so happy i did not get that because he's so brilliant and i would not even come close to comparing to what he's done uh seriously just like i don't i don't i know he gets a lot of recognition but i don't think he gets enough recognition oh i'm obsessed he's amazing yeah it's brilliant i like i feel like he should be

like he should be getting emmys for that he's like it's insane his his performance um and it's so like just, yeah, it's just so leveled and it's like, it has so much depth to it. But that was the first time I had read anything about the boys. That was before the boys was the boys. I didn't get a callback. I didn't get, you know, it was nothing. You know, we auditioned for hundreds of things and we get right. A percentage, one percent, less than a percent of what we audition for.

So that's it. They just, they wanted me to come in for that. I don't know what at the time, what they were casting if they were looking at all different ages or what they were looking at. but yeah that's what happened and then when they were doing the gen v spin-off they came to me saying you know like we know you audition for that and we remember it and and we want you to audition for this golden boy um and it was just kind of positioned as like he was going to be this kind of a miniature version of homelander but he was honestly like a really good kid and a really

nice genuine person and he was kind of struggling with having to become part of that superhero and that kind of level of fame. And oh, by the way, we're going to kill you at the end of the first episode. And I was like, okay, great. So it's a one episode arc. And they're like, well, we might bring the character back in certain scenes and certain this and this.

And so whatever, I auditioned for it. And then I got the callback and did the director read and the chemistry read. And then it all came into play. But it was kind of a reminder for me of, you know, sometimes you don't want to or audition for something or you don't know. And it's a good learning lesson of just putting your best

foot forward. And I'd seen that with, I don't know if it was Jeff Bridges or who or Gossling or someone had kind of said that, you know, just use it as an exercise of a moment, even if you don't think you're right for the role or whatever, just go out there and put your best foot forward and use it as a learning exercise. Because you never know, the casting director might think of you from it for another part or for another kind of thing down the road. And that's what happened. It just thought of me for this golden boy and one thing led to the next and I got brought back but by the by the nature of the world we live in the last 10 15 years in your age and kind of like your appearance I would imagine have you done more than your share of superhero auditions in your career oh I haven't I've

only auditioned for I think like two superheroes um I think it was literally like a homelander and then I think it was golden boy and I think I and Superman those were like the three three that I think I've auditioned for. Oh my gosh. So it's Superman. Do you get into the costume? What was it like? No. I don't even think I got a I don't think I got any feedback. I think it was like, no, not for you. And then it was fine. And I got the white lotus one right right after. And it was that. So is that just like a self tape? You don't go in. That's just something. Yeah, that was self, self tape. Because this was like right after the, it's been weird. The industry has been like i i i have it's all tape now right i have a person audition next week and that was that's like

one of the first ones i've had since covid like the only other one that i've done an in-person one for was with ryan murphy for tim tibo for american sports story that was in person with him and the producers and casting and everything like that and then i did one other one for a uh the idea of you uh movie that's that's it that's it Everything else now is Zoom. It's really weird and you do. That's crazy. It's like,

I mean, it's, that's a weird kind of skill in and of itself. But it also, yes, some of it translates, what some of it can't possibly translate. No,

it can't. It would be like this. And what happens is right now when I'm on Zoom with you, I have like, you're over here and I'm over here. Right. But you do it where it's just, I'm not technical.

So it's just one person on the screen. And when they talk, they're on it and then you talk and it switches to you. Right. So it's really weird doing a scene with someone because, sometimes they'll be mid-talk and you say something and it'll switch to you

and then it's like it's really distracting and weird. bizarre. So I know White Lotus kind of you kind of manifested this one. You wanted this one. You were a fan of the show. I have a possible manifestation.

I saw way back when you did a Patrick Bateman photo shoot for Vanity Fair. They're doing American Psycho. Maybe there's something out there for you. You and Luca Guadernino. I would love nothing more than the opportunity to work on

that. It was one of my favorite films years and years ago with Christian Bale and I don't know. I think Luke could casted that already. I don't know. There were some rumors that Austin was going to do it, but I don't know if that's real or not, Austin Butler. Austin can't take every role. I love Austin.

He takes every role. There are four of him. We don't know that. He cloned himself. Like I'm up for an audition and they're like, Austin Butler got it. Jacob Lord got it. Glenn Powell got it. And it's just like, I just get the scrap. So it's, I'll take the scraps. But there's enough for everybody.

Yeah. I would love to. I'd love to audition for that. And I'm sure he's going to do it in a very unique and different way than what they did before or else why we need to redo it. But it's, yeah, my character in White Lotus is, that's funny because so many people said that. I mean, the show is a lot more to go. We're one out of eight episodes. And it's, it's Mike wanted him, like I said, to be this kind of.

of like freddie flirt bro that was like you know took himself way too serious and felt like he was this he knew everything but also there's moments of him being really goofy and silly and you kind of you know root for him in a really weird way and you enjoy watching him and and you know more stuff comes down the road you know mike's too rich and smart of a writer to make someone you know one dimensional time you know 100% yeah we'll see i don't know i mean hopefully luca watches the show and gives me a chance to come in. If he hasn't already casted one of those other people that are, you know, a couple of levels.

I was going to say, well, hey, if you look at the original film, there's a nice little ensemble of those creepy dudes. Yeah. So is there an actor, a filmmaker, a franchise that we can help manifest? If I could, if I could will something collaboration into existence today.

What can we do for you, Patrick? Well, I don't know what's a, I mean, a movie. I mean, I think what, you know, I didn't even get a callback on the Superman, but I think what Guns doing with the DC world is really unique and different. And I think that's totally revamping that. And I'm really curious to see where that goes and would be, would love to be in that world. As far as other universes, I mean, working with a director like Luca, I mean, something like that. Yeah.

It doesn't matter what project it is. I would do it in a heartbeat. Yeah. I mean, there's a whole laundry list of other directors and obviously directors that I grew up watching that are still going. You know, I think today they just announced the Scorsese one with Leo and Spielberg's

doing another movie this summer. And, you know, Nolan is doing The Odyssey now and they already cast 50 people in that. But, you know, any of those. Patrick Schwarzenegger, here he come. Once again, I'll be an extra. I'll be a, I'll play a whatever. I mean, there's so many different, you know, just amazing directors and writers and people that I want to work with.

So as we wrap up, one question I wanted to ask you when we were talking about your parents earlier, I asked Maya Hawke this and she surprised me. She was telling me she's not seen a fair amount of her parents' films. She confessed she had never seen Dead Poet Society, for instance. Is there a whole, I know. Is there a whole? That's a really good one. It is a good one. Is there a hole in your Arnold Schwarzenegger knowledge?

Is there one of the film you've been saving? There's definitely ones that I have not seen. I mean, I've seen, you know, obviously the Terminators, the, you know, predator, true lies. And then there's obviously the comedic ones that I loved as a kid. You know, kindergarten cop was one of my favorite movies growing up and twins. And my fanfic, by the way, about your childhood is Arnold's screen. there is no bathroom to you when he has to discipline you. Did it ever happen?

Did he ever say it? He loves saying his one-liners. Oh, he does, I know. Yeah, you don't even ask for them and he says it. You know, he's so corny with it. He'll just scream them out to you and you're like, dude, like, get over yourself. But I have not seen Last Action Hero. Oh, I like Last Action Hero.

I know I get some flack, but I like it. It, yeah, it got a lot of, you know, it was a huge budget movie and stuff. And I remember seeing like a clip of it because we had this pinball machine in our house growing up. But I never, I have not watched it start to finish. I don't think as like as an adult of really watching a film. I think separated from the, all the controversy, the big budget of the time, I think you'll appreciate it. It's a quality flick. It's good one.

Yeah, yeah. I know. I need to watch it because I know my dad was actually saying this like a couple of months ago. He was like, you should find a way to redo it. It was such a big disaster, but so amazing, all these different things. And so I, oh, it's a smart idea. No, it's a very smart movie. Yeah, that's good.

All right. The head of its time then, right? It was just crazy. All right. I'm going to end with this. We end every episode with the happy, say I confused, profoundly random questions, Patrick. Here we go. Are you a dog or cat person?

Dog. My dogs, as you can hear whining next to me. What do you collect, if anything? What do I collect, if anything? Oh, what do I collect? Maybe. Hats, I see some hats around. I do have a lot of hats.

That's actually, that's actually true. Hats is a good one. Okay. Yeah, hats. Okay, we'll go with that. Do you have a favorite video game of all time when you've sucked hours of your life? Oh, Super Smash Bros.

N64, Nintendo 64. We still have like a weekly game that we play with some friends. I'm super smash bros and I'm I'm Kirby amazing love it this is the Dakota Johnson Memorial question she asked me this once so I apologize in advance to bit crude but it's Dakota it's not me

would you rather have a mouthful of bees or one B in your butt one B in my in my butt I guess a thousand bees in a handful of bees sounds awful sounds horrendous yeah one B take your chances on the 1B maybe it's a kind of B yeah Maybe it'll die and forget it. What's the wallpaper on your phone? I don't have my phone on me, but it's a carousel of me and my fiance, me and my family,

my sister, my dad, my mom, friends. It's like 20 photos that it goes through. Nice. Who's the last actor you were mistaken for? Does it ever happen? Yes, I get mistaken a lot for the guy, and I'm playing on his name right now, but the guy from Pretty Little Liars. Okay. Oh, I'm going to blank on that name, too, unfortunately.

But no disrespect. We love you. No, but I had a funny story where one time I was outside this hotel and a group of girls came up to me and asked me for a selfie. This was just like maybe like three years ago. And wait, I want to see his name. Wait, what is his name? Jared. I can Google while we're talking. Jason Dorentis.

I never watched the show. But they came up to me and they were like, can we get a selfie? can get a selfie and they were kind of like fan girling and I was like yeah yeah of course and they took the photo and they were like I love you so much on pretty little liars it's it's our favorite show and I was just like I'm not on pretty little liars and they were like what do you mean and I was like I'm not that's not me they were like what and I and I and then I left and I was like and then so many people say it today even when after the first episode of Boy, Lotus came out.

Drew Van Acker. That's right. Drew Van Acker. He just said, okay, there we go. That's, I get that all the time.

I wonder if Drew gets Patrick Schwarzenegger. We have to investigate this. I asked him one time. I don't know if it was on Twitter or Instagram or something like that. There was like one photo that I did like on a carpet where my hair was kind of like down something. And he had it like in a similar way and people did like a side by side. But yeah. I don't know.

What's the worst noted director has ever given? you. Mike White said that I wasn't, that I didn't walk rich enough. He said that I don't, yeah, he was like, you, you're rich in real life. You don't walk rich. You don't, you're not rich at all. You know, you walk richer. I was like, okay, okay.

Well, that means your parents raise you right. You're not carrying your wealth with you. That's good. That's good. It was in a funny way, he said it, not enough. Yeah. And then in the spirit of happy second fused, who's an actor who always makes you happy. Well, Farrell.

Perfect. a movie that always makes you sad a movie that always makes me sad oh man are you a a Pixar cryer are you a notebook weeper are you a yeah Pixar movies always make me

cry in one way or another um notebook yeah notebook some sort of good I mean it has to be a really strong rom-com to make me Terminator 2 when the thumb goes down, when dad's thumb goes into the... I don't think I shut a tear there, but yeah. I'm trying to think of the last movie that I shed a tear in.

It's okay. You have no tear ducks. It's just not in you. It's okay. No, it is. It definitely is. I think it's probably the last one. And a food that makes you confused.

A food that makes me confused. You don't get it. Why do people eat that? I don't like that. Why would... That's weird. Um, you know what, passion fruit. Okay.

The seeds, I don't, it's not, yeah, I don't get it. Well, ended on that controversial note. Patrick, it's been really great to get to know you today, man. I'm so happy for all the success. As I said, this is a good moment to chat with you. I mean, I hope you're enjoying it. And the season's just starting. I've seen a bunch of episodes.

I know people are going to dig the rest that's to come. Mike White knows what he's doing. He's cast the right people. So congrats, man, on everything. Thank you. I really appreciate it, and I'm glad you got to watch. Would you see, first six? First six.

Only two more to go. I need them. Hook me up. I haven't seen the last ones if it makes you feel better. Okay, a little bit. Yeah, a little bit. All right, man. I'll see you in person one of these days.

No, thanks again. A lot of fun. Thank you. And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley and I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh.

Hey, Michael. Hey, Tom. You want to tell him or you want me to tell him? No, no, no. I got this. People out there. People lean in. Get close.

Get close. Listen. Here's the deal. We have big news. We got monumental news. We got snack. Nuclear news. Yeah, after a brief hiatus, my good friend, Michael Ian Black, and I are coming back.

My good friend, Tom Kavana, and I, are coming back to do what we do best. What we were put on this earth to do. To pick a snack. To eat a snack. And to rate a snack. scientifically? Emotionally. Spiritually.

Mates is back. Mike and Tom eat snacks. Is back. A podcast for anyone with a mouth. With a mouth. Available wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.