When your father is Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's only natural you're destined for stardom. That’s exactly the case for his son, Patrick Schwarzenegger, who’s been making waves in Hollywood and recently appeared in the hit series The White Lotus.
However, in a new interview with his son for Variety, the 77-year-old admitted the career path he predicted Patrick would go down – and it wasn't acting. The duo opened up about their contrasting journeys into the industry and how Patrick has navigated the scrutiny surrounding nepotism. "Your approach to acting is obviously different than mine was," said Arnold.
© Getty"You started studying it, which was a real surprise to me. When you were 12 years old, I was always saying to your mother, 'This kid is going to be a business genius.' And then he went to business school, and he loved business."
"I still do," replied Patrick.
Arnold went on to explain that he initially "hoped" his son would pursue a career in business alongside performing. "I was always hoping, 'Maybe he also likes – like I did – to do both. And he’ll be a businessman and also an actor,'" he said.
© GettyHowever, The White Lotus star admitted that he hasn’t always taken his father’s advice during his decade-long career. "You always said that you’ve made way more money from business than from acting," replied Patrick.
"The past 10 years, I’ve slowly worked my career. I’ve done smaller roles, and it’s gotten bigger. You always say, 'Go for No. 1.' And I’ve gone the opposite way."
It’s clear that Arnold has high hopes for his son’s future in Hollywood – and he’s undoubtedly his biggest supporter. "But deep down inside, you wouldn’t mind becoming the greatest star of all time," said The Terminator star.
© WireImage"You’re not going to put the brakes on that."
"No, I know," replied Patrick.
The Schwarzenegger name
Despite the father-and-son duo's close relationship, Patrick admitted that he was close to changing his name to escape the comparisons. "There were times earlier in my career where I was wondering, does it make sense to go under an alias?" said the actor.
"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."
© GettyArnold is clearly against the nepotism claims and was relieved when his son decided against the decision. "I’m glad you kept the name, because now I can take credit," he replied.
"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."
