Sam Nivola at the L.A. premiere of ‘The White Lotus’ (left); Patrick Schwarzenegger at “The White Lotus” x Banana Republic Collection Launch in NYC (right). Photo:
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; John Nacion/Variety via Getty
Sam Nivola and Patrick Schwarzenegger‘s incestual kiss on The White Lotus was weird both onscreen and off.
The actors play brothers Lochlan (Nivola) and Saxon (Schwarzenegger) Ratliff on the third season of Mike White‘s hit HBO series, and, in a drugged-up haze, while celebrating at the Full Moon party, they share a kiss — only to wake up and realize they did much more than just lock lips.
Nivola, 21, told Variety it was “very weird kissing Patrick” for the scenes “because he’s a really good friend of mine” in real life and, by the time they filmed it, he knew Schwarzenegger, 31, “very well.”
“I’d been hanging out every day with him and Sarah Catherine [Hook] and Jason [Isaacs] and Parker [Posey],” Nivola said. “Patrick was already like a brother to me. It felt sort of f—ed up.”
“And, you know, I’m straight, he’s straight. It’s already weird. It would have been easier if that was the first time we were meeting,” Nivola continued of the threesome scene, which the brothers also shared with Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon). “Weirdly, it was easier to do things with Charlotte because there were no stakes. It’s just this person I’ve just met.”
Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff, Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff in ‘The White Lotus’ season 3. Fabio Lovino/HBO
It wasn’t easy for Schwarzenegger to film either, Le Bon revealed.
“I think for Patrick it was really difficult,” she told Vulture of filming the drugged-up party scenes. “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.”
She continued, “But Patrick’s reaction in the episode is his genuine reaction. We all thought he was going to throw up. And Sam was like, ‘It’s fine, it’s just a kiss, calm down!’”
Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff, Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff in ‘The White Lotus’ season 3. HBO
Though the intimate scenes between the brothers were uncomfortable to watch, executive producer David Bernad said that the twist was “not just for shock” purposes.
“There’s a specific reason in terms of the narrative storytelling and the larger thematic idea Mike is trying to get across,” he told the New York Post.
“As the season wraps up, you’ll see the purpose of that story turn,” he said. “The show goes there for a larger thematic idea. I love that family storyline, especially the brother story — and, it culminates in a very satisfying way.”
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New episodes of The White Lotus season 3 premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
