White Lotus’ Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Divola React to Incestuous Kissing Scene - E! Online
The White Lotus’ Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola spoke out after their characters—who are brothers—shared a kiss during the March 16 episode of the HBO show’s third season.
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The White Lotus just went there.
While the stage had been set for weirdness between the Ratliff family siblings—no, you didn’t imagine the off-putting, sexual vibes between Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and his younger brother Lochlan (Sam Nivola) back in episode one—the series’ Mar. 16 episode took things to a whole new level with a drug-fueled, incestuous kiss between the two brothers.
For Patrick, the fifth episode is when “everything starts to unravel.”
"One of the themes really is you enter the White Lotus as one person and you leave as another," he continued to Today. "Who are you when everything that you thought you were is taken away? And I think that’s something that’s really relevant and prevalent for Saxon. Him walking into the White Lotus as the most confident and sure person of who he is, and everything gets completely questioned in his experience there.”
The 31-year-old also noted that feeling of unease the audience feels watching the events play out is intentional—and the way with which the sequence is shot—is intentional on the part of creator Mike White.
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“He wants to leave that up to the interpretation of the audience of what is happening,” Patrick added. “Was a power shift happening? Is there a different power dynamic between him and Lochy? Is Lochy coming on to him? Is it the drugs? Is it the girls pressuring him? What is it? So, I think he leaves that open-ended for the audience to try to decipher.”
Sam, meanwhile, shared his two cents on what he thinks is happening with his character.
Fabio Lovino/HBO
“He's just an incredibly insecure guy, a real people pleaser who needs something from the people," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "He's not very self-sufficient, he needs love and support from the people around him in his life, and I think he's willing to go to all the lengths to find the people he loves.”
Sam also addressed the pressure Lochlan has been receiving from Saxon to lose his virginity, as well as his character’s relationship with sister Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) as she tries to keep him from following in Saxon's footsteps.
"There's a push and pull between sex, and then Piper trying to control his future," he added. "But for me? I don't think Lochlan really gives a s--t which path he goes down. I think it's more that he's going to choose whichever path feels like it's with the person who loves him the most."
HBO
And while the moment was, in fact, shocking, executive producer David Bernad said the detail was not written in just for pure shock factor.
“Mike is brilliant, and I think those big story turns are not just for shock,” he told The New York Post. “There’s a specific reason in terms of the narrative storytelling, and the larger thematic idea Mike is trying to get across.”
But were exactly this kiss will play into the larger narrative remains to be seen as season three progresses. In the meantime, if you’ve wondered where you’ve seen certain cast members previously, keep reading to learn more about The White Lotus cast.
HBO; Christopher Polk/Shutterstock
Lalisa Manobal
How you like that? The singer known mononymously as Lisa went from being a rockstar on world stages as part of K-pop group Blackpink—alongside Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé—to donning the White Lotus staff uniform for her big debut as Mook.
HBO; Entertainment Pictures/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMAPRESS.com
Jason Isaacs
Looks like Lucius Malfoy missed the train to Hogwarts and instead landed at The White Lotus. That's right: He may look different without the luscious blond hair, but the Harry Potter star is returning to the screen as another uppity father figure, playing Timothy Ratliff, described as a "wealthy businessman vacationing with his wife and three children."
Isaacs has also made more recent appearances on TV shows like Robot Chicken, The Great and Sex Education (alongside his White Lotus costar Aimee Lou Wood.)
HBO; Moviestore/Shutterstock
Parker Posey
Don't scream when you see it, but Posey—who plays Timothy's wife Victoria Ratliff—may look familiar from her movies Superman Returns, Blade: Trinity, Scream 3 and Dazed and Confused. She's also had brief stints on such TV shows as Parks and Recreation, New Girl, Portlandia and Search Party.
But the real rom-com fans will know her from the 1998 classic You've Got Mail, in which she played Joe Fox's (Tom Hanks) girlfriend Patricia Eden.
HBO; Prime Video
Patrick Schwarzenegger
While you may know him best from family photos as the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, he has already made a name for himself acting in Gen V, The Terminal List and The Staircase before playing Saxon Ratliff in season three.
HBO; Warner Bros. Pictures
Sarah Catherine Hook
Prior to taking on the part of the Ratliffs' daughter Piper, Hook got her feet wet in the horror and fantasy genres, portraying Debbie Glatzel in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Juliette Fairmont in First Kill and Elena Milak in Monsterland.
You may also know her from the 2024 Cruel Intentions remake as Caroline Merteuil or from the Ryan Murphy cinematic universe, in which she played Catherine Allday Davis in Impeachment: American Crime Story about the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky scandal.
HBO; Netflix
Sam Nivola
Nivola—who is dating Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann's daughter Iris Apatow—rounds out the Ratliff family as young Lochlan. But before hitting the shores of Thailand, he was in another show about a rich family at the beach: The Perfect Couple, playing Will Winbury, the son of Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber's Greer and Tag Winbury. He even costarred on the Netflix drama with White Lotus alum Meghann Fahy, who appeared as Daphne Sullivan on season two of the HBO show before playing Merritt Monaco on The Perfect Couple.
Nivola has also acted in White Noise with Adam Driver, Maestro with Bradley Cooper and With/In with Anne Hathaway.
HBO
Natasha Rothwell
Of course, White Lotus fans will recognize Rothwell from season one, in which she played spa guru Belinda in Maui. Not only is she reprising the part for season three, but the actress has also graced the screen in Insecure, Wonka, A Year and Change and Love, Simon. Plus, she lent her comedy chops to Saturday Night Live as a writer from 2014 to 2015.
HBO; Marvel/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
Leslie Bibb
The Iron Man alum is assembling to play Kate in The White Lotus after portraying Christine Everhart in the Marvel franchise. More recently, she starred in Palm Royale as Dinah Donahue and Jupiter’s Legacy as Grace Kennedy-Sampson.
HBO; 20th Century Fox/Regency/Kobal/Shutterstock
Carrie Coon
The Gilded Age star—who may also look familiar from The Sinner, Fargo and The Leftovers—steps into the role of Laurie, who joins pals Kate and Jaclyn for a girls' trip in Thailand this season.
HBO; Kobal/Shutterstock
Michelle Monaghan
While Monaghan plays TV star Jaclyn on The White Lotus, she’s also a TV star IRL, having been on True Detective, Bad Monkey, Messiah and The Path. On the big screen, she's starred as Julia in Mission: Impossible - Fallout and Angie Genaro in Gone Baby Gone.
HBO; Columbia/The Weinstein Company/Kobal/Shutterstock
Walton Goggins
You'll feel justified in knowing that it's not all in your head—Goggins really does look familiar. In addition to starring in two Quentin Tarantino movies (playing Billy Crash in Django Unchained and Sheriff Chris Mannix in The Hateful Eight), he is also known for being Boyd Crowder in Justified from 2010 to 2015.
HBO; Netflix
Aimee Lou Wood
The English actress joins the cast in season three as free-spirited Chelsea, who has an age-gap romance with Goggins' character Rick Hatchett. Yet, she is best known for her role as Aimee Gibbs on Netflix’s Sex Education and also appeared in Seize Them! and Daddy Issues.
HBO; One 31
Lek Patravadi
Her acting credits may trace back 50 years—starting with Grounded God in 1975—but she most recently portrayed Prani Chiraanan on In Family We Trust in 2018.
HBO; C More Entertainment
Tayme Thapthimthong
The singer and former military man has acting credits that include Mechanic: Resurrection, Skin Trade and Paradox, as well as playing Pao on the TV series Farang.
HBO; A24
Christian Friedel
If 13 minutes wasn't enough time to figure out where you recognize the German actor, allow us to refresh your memory. He played Rudolf Höss in The Zone of Interest, Reinhold Gräf in Babylon Berlin and Georg Elser in 13 Minutes.
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