Arnold Schwarzenegger breaks silence after son Patrick's admission about family name

Arnold Schwarzenegger has finally opened up about his son Patrick Schwarzenegger's confession regarding his personal debate on whether or not to use the icon's last name or to create an alias for his acting career.

Before committing to his last name, Patrick was going back and forth between what last name to go with, because he feared that people would assume that only nepotism got him into the acting world.

Back in February, Patrick transparently shared with the Times: "I know there are people who'll say I only got this role because of who my dad is. Of course, it's frustrating and you can get boxed in, and you think at the moment: 'I wish I didn't have my last name.' "

Although he openly struggled with the decision, the actor decided to stick to his family roots and be open and proud of his last name. He continued: "But that's a small moment. I would never trade my life with anyone."

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How Arnold felt about the young actor's dilemma has remained private, up until now. The pair recently sat down together for Variety's Actors on Actors series, during which Arnold finally opened the can of worms. The series aired on Tuesday, June 3.

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The Terminator star candidly told his son: "One of the quotes that I read was how it was difficult to get through this because you have the name Schwarzenegger. So explain that to me, because I didn't understand it."

Patrick didn't hold back, and instead delved straight into the difficult topic. He shared: "I mean, from my side, I feel it in multiple different ways. Mike White said it comes with baggage, is what he said. Not meaning our last name, Schwarzenegger, but I think this idea of when you have successful parents, like I do with you and with mom."

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Regardless of the White Lotus actor's thought-process on the matter, the proud dad was relieved that his son chose the family name, and for a humorous reason.

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The action star jokingly commented: "Well, I'm glad that you kept the name. Because now I can take credit: 'Yeah, my son! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!' That's the kind of lines that I'm using now."

The Hollywood actor consoled his son by adding that he's not the only child of successful parents in the industry and he believes it's an advantage, not a disadvantage.

He added: "You basically joined the shortlist of people that are actors in Hollywood who had famous parents; Jamie Lee Curtis with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Michael Douglas, who I have worked with, and I've worked with his father, Kirk Douglas."

Arnold confirmed that his personal perspective is that having a strong family name such as his own, could only be "a big plus" for Patrick.