Maria Shriver would like to set the record straight about the differences between her son and the character he plays on “The White Lotus.”
Patrick Schwarzenegger, Shriver’s son with former California governor and action movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger, plays Saxon Ratliff, a toxic Southern finance bro who has had some jaw-dropping scenes on the current season of the HBO hit.
“Patrick is not like Saxon,” Shriver told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY on April 1. “I just want to clear that up because people say, โIs Patrick like Saxon?โ Iโm like, โDo you think I wouldโve raised a Saxon?โ”
Schwarzenegger, 31, has also experienced fans conflating him with Saxon, whom he said is a โweird and creepy kind of guy” in an interview with TODAY.com in March.
He said that after a nude scene in Episode One, someone asked him, โDude, you really like that with your brother?โ
“No!” Schwarzenegger replied. “But, you also canโt control what everybody thinks.”
From incestuous moments to the nude scene that had Arnold Schwarzenegger joking that โthe apple doesnโt fall far from the tree,โ Saxon has been a breakout character on the dark comedy drama about privileged guests at a stunning resort in Thailand.
Shriver joked that the release of her new book, “I Am Maria,” is being overshadowed by her son’s career-making role.
“Iโm going to change the name of the book (to) โI Am Patrickโs Mother,'” she said, “because all anybody wants to talk to me about is Saxon.”
She at least has been able to brace herself for some of her son’s racier scenes in the show, including the nude scene.
โI did know that was coming,โ Shriver said. โHe kind of warned me, but not really warned me. Thatโs between me and Patrick. He kind of warned me, but he wonโt tell me.โ
Shriver is just as engrossed in this season of “The White Lotus” as everyone else. She is eagerly awaiting the season finale on April 6.
“I hope Saxon doesnโt die this weekend,” she said. “I donโt know. I don’t know. I really donโt know. I swear on my mother I donโt know.
“Iโve changed my whole book tour to be home to watch the finale,” she continued. “I want to have a viewing party, but he told me he has to work, so Iโm going to have my viewing party without Saxon.”
She also is a proud mother after her son’s career hit a new peak.
“Iโm really happy for him,” Shriver said. “Heโs worked so hard. He takes acting classes, he gets rejected a lot, and this is finally the role of his life. And heโs having a great time with it, and everybody wants to talk to me about it.”
