Patrick Schwarzenegger is opening up about how his faith has helped him in his everyday life and career.
During a Q&A with Variety at the Sundance Film Festival Friday, the 32-year-old actor discussed his faith, telling the crowd his “prayers are something that helped me each and every day in my life.”
“It’s something that helps me and my wife,” he said. “We do it together. I think there was some crazy stat of husband and wives that pray together [are] 67% less likely to get divorced or separated.”
He explained that he doesn’t want to come off as someone who promises that “everything will be OK” if others start praying every day, but added, “It’s something that is a center point for my faith and gratitude,” adding he finds it to be “a refreshing moment” in his day.
CHRIS PRATT AGREED TO THIS ONE CHRISTMAS TRADITION BEFORE MARRYING KATHERINE SCHWARZENEGGER
Patrick got his start working in smaller roles in television and film before landing his breakout role in Season 3 of the hit HBO Max drama series “The White Lotus,” but he says he has a greater purpose than just an acting career.
“I’m here on this earth for a greater purpose and greater meaning than just working in acting,” Patrick said. “The film industry is a roller coaster. I’ve seen it firsthand with my own family members, with friends. What’s really important is that as you go up, down, whichever way you go, your faith is still there.”
The actor was born in the limelight. His father is action star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his mother, Maria Shriver, has been famous from birth as a member of the Kennedy family and worked as a journalist as an adult.
In one episode of “White Lotus,” Patrick’s character briefly appears nude on camera. The actor previously told “Today” he “shrunk into [his] seat” while watching the scene with his family but said his dad found it “funny.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
“After the first episode, he was cracking up over the scene in the bedroom. He thought it was so funny and so absurd,” Patrick shared during an interview with Men’s Health in March 2025.
Arnold also addressed the scene on his social media, writing he “could claim to be surprised” his son had a nude scene before jokingly adding, “but what can I say – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
The former governor famously appeared nude on camera in the 1984 movie “The Terminator” and then again in the 1991 sequel, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”
“Only the opening scene was naked, but I’m talking about naked,” Arnold told Patrick about filming for “The Terminator,” when the two sat down for a conversation on Variety’s Actors on Actors series.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
“I’m watching your show, and I’m watching you with your butt sticking out there. And all of a sudden, I see the weenie. And I said to myself, ‘what is going on here?'” he told his son.
“And then I said to myself, ‘Well, Arnold, hello? You did the same thing in ‘Conan’ and in ‘Terminator,’ all of these films, you were naked, so don’t complain about it.’ But it was kind of like, really, a shock to me that you would follow my footsteps that closely.”
