Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son and JFK’s grandnephew could be H’wood’s next top leading man

Patrick Schwarzenegger —RUBEN V. NEPALES

LOS ANGELES—Imagine having this Wiki entry on you: “He is the elder son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. A member of the Kennedy family, Schwarzenegger is also a grandnephew of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, as well as the late United States Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy.”

Even with such family lineage, Patrick is genial and approachable in person. He has the looks, as well. The 24-year-old talked to us in connection with “Midnight Sun,” the romantic drama which features him in his first major role.
Bella Thorne costars in director Scott Peer’s American take on the 2006 Japanese film of the same name. She plays Katie, who suffers from a life-threatening sensitivity to sunlight so her world opens up only after dark.

Patrick’s Charlie is Katie’s longtime crush, whom she has secretly watched from her bedroom window. He brings a natural charisma to the screen, unsurprising if your dad is Arnold and your granduncle is JFK.

Patrick Schwarzenegger (left) and Bella Thorne in “Midnight Sun”

Excerpts from our chat:

Are you a Republican like your dad? Yeah, my dad is a Republican, but what he thinks he’s doing is for the people rather than the party. Why he wanted to go into politics in the first place was not to say, “I am a Republican versus a Democrat.” But it was to go more into the sense of, I came to America and experienced the American dream. Let me find a way to pay back.

That is his side of the political world, and that’s my side of the political world. At the end of the day, I just want to help other people and give back.

Have you smoked cigars with your dad? Yeah. I don’t like to smoke in general, but I will smoke a cigar with him on Christmas or his birthday.

It’s a struggle to find your own identity. Did you think about changing your last name for your screen name? No, because my dad is unique and one of a kind. He conquered multiple career paths. So if I’m one-tenth as successful as he is, that would be amazing.

How has your mom influenced who you are? My mom and I are super close. We hang out multiple times a week. My sisters say that if I am in a relationship, the girlfriend better like my mom because my mother third wheels on a lot of dates (laughs). But she is great. She has a new book out right now called “I’ve Been Thinking …: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life.”

Both my parents have given such great advice and words of wisdom. My mom obviously brought me up. My dad was someone who worked his whole life and had strange hours that actors and politicians do.

My mom comes from a political and public service background. Her mother started the Special Olympics and obviously, her uncle was JFK. Her father started the Peace Corps, and her brother started Best Buddies. The other one does Save the Children. So, it’s a lot of political and charitable giving back. We’re all so fortunate to have the lives that we have.

Do you, as a member of the Kennedy clan, feel the pressure to be mindful of your reputation or image? I don’t try to keep up with a certain image. I have learned a lot from the Kennedy side, from the history, my mom, grandmother and grandfather, especially. And then finding ways to use what I’ve learned in my own life, because you have learned in school that teachers can throw as much information as you want, but it’s what you chew, swallow and retain.

So, no matter what your background is, it’s how you take that information in and use it in your own life. As far as what the Kennedy dynasty or mythology is, I just use certain components of it that can help make me a better person and find ways, like I was saying earlier, we are a family of public service.

This is one of your first lead roles. How did that feel? Yeah. I’ve done some other projects, mostly smaller ones and smaller-sized roles. But going into a set when you are the lead is obviously a different amount of weight, and you do feel a little different when you first show up. But I was lucky to work with Bella, whom I had known for a little bit prior and then had gotten to know a little more over the course of filming. And she helped me become more comfortable.

It was great to work with someone like Bella, because she helped me bring out emotions.

Part of the essence of this film is loving somebody from a distance. How perceptive are you to somebody being attracted to you? I hope that nobody is staring at me out of his window (laughs) as I go at home at night.

When did you know that you wanted to be an actor?
I fell in love with film—its creation and sets—when I was at a young age. My favorite activity, and if I was a good boy during the week, was that I got to go to set. That was the ultimate gold star for me. It was like a kid’s dreamland to go to the movie sets with him (his dad), watch him come in as dad, then transform into Mr. Freeze or the Terminator.

During breaks, we got to take the golf cart around and go to the “Jaws” or “King Kong” rides.

Then, I wanted to do more acting, and my dad was like, “You can start auditioning” or “Why don’t you take acting classes outside of school?” So I started doing that. My parents wanted me to get an education, so I finished my college degree. I got a business degree and a minor in cinematic arts and film.

Are you considering also entering politics? I have learned from my dad as well that you can have your eggs in different baskets. You can have multiple jobs, passions and careers, but you have to be focused on all those eggs like you have them all in one basket. So, a film is what I’m doing right now. Politics may come out one day.

E-mail [email protected]. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.