Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola in ‘The White Lotus’. Photo:
MAX
Apparently Patrick Schwarzenegger was just as uncomfortable shooting that scene with Sam Nivola in the recent episode of The White Lotus as fans were watching it.
After viewers saw Schwarzenegger’s Saxon Ratliff make out with his little brother Lochlan (Nivola) in the March 16 episode, their costar Charlotte Le Bon revealed what it was like to film the awkward moment.
In an interview with Vulture, Le Bon, 38, said Schwarzenegger, 31, needed some encouragement before going in for the kiss.
“Well obviously they’re not brothers by blood, so that made it easier,” she explained. “I think for Patrick it was really difficult. For Sam, he was kind of like, ‘It’s whatever, let’s just do it well one time and it will be over.’ You know? Because if you don’t do it well the first time, then you have to do it over and over again.”
Patrick Schwarzenegger in ‘The White Lotus’. MAX
“But Patrick’s reaction in the episode is his genuine reaction,” she noted of him pulling back and looking confused in the episode. “We all thought he was going to throw up. And Sam was like, ‘It’s fine, it’s just a kiss, calm down!’”
Le Bon plays Chloe, the new girlfriend of Greg Hunt a.k.a. Gary (Jon Gries), who was previously married to Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge). Chloe is looking for fun with the White Lotus vacationers, and when she finds herself bonding with Saxon, Lochlan and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), Chloe decides to take them for a night out on the town in Thailand.
“I think Chloe is deeply, deeply bored,” Le Bon said. “There’s a void inside of her. She fills that void with partying, sex and chaos. This kiss between the two brothers for her is just pure entertainment, which is obviously really evil when you think about it.”
The smooch occurred on Chloe’s yacht after she and her new friends take a mystery pill at the beginning of the night. In fact, she is the one who suggests the kiss in the first place.
“She’s not attached to life — I don’t know how to say it. She’s just there. She’s just incarnated in this body to live the experience of life and she doesn’t really care about the rest,” Le Bon added.
From left: Charlotte Le Bon, Sam Nivola, and Aimee Lou Wood in ‘The White Lotus’. Fabio Lovino/HBO
When it comes to the consequences of her actions, Le Bon said Chloe (who also locks lips with Chelsea in the scene) only focuses on what she wants in the moment.
“She’s the kind of person who’s never thought about that, or else she was just always able to manage her way through it,” she theorized. “She’s probably smart like that. It is really chaotic and dark.”
The weird vibes between the brothers began in episode 1, which left fans grew suspicious of their relationship after Lochlan was seemingly unable to take his eyes off Saxon when he was completely naked.
During an interview with The Radio Times in February, Schwarzenegger teased the dynamic.
“I think that the relationship with his brother — although it’s very odd and weird, which is what [creator] Mike [White] wanted — it’s still very loving at the same time,” he said. “I mean, it’s just that Saxon has this false perception and idea of what he thinks makes a man and who he thinks he is, and he’s trying to groom his younger brother to become that.”
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The White Lotus airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.
