Why Patrick Schwarzenegger Wanted to Play Tim Tebow in ‘American Sports Story’ and His “Wild” Debut in ‘White Lotus’

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[This story contains spoilers from episode three of American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, “Pray the Gay Away.”]

Patrick Schwarzenegger’s brief but buzzy portrayal of college football great Tim Tebow in Ryan Murphy’s latest production American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez is surprisingly one he sought. “I wish they just came to me and said, ‘you want to play Tim Tebow?’ I’m not on that level yet,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It came to me just in my inbox as a good ole audition.”

The small size of the role in the 10-episode limited series about the troubled NFL star whose fall from grace involved murder and suicide didn’t deter Schwarzenegger, who admits he takes a different approach to acting than his very famous father.

“It’s funny, because I have a different theory than someone like my dad,” he explains, without naming megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger. “My dad is always like, ‘go for the main title, go for the lead, go for all these different things, think big, big, big.’ I always try to think about ‘what are my goals’ when it comes to becoming an actor. For me, it’s continuously learning and growing as an actor. It’s to surround myself with really great talent and great filmmakers and producers and team. Then it’s also to play something totally different than what I’ve done before.”

He continues, discussing his role, “And for me, this hit all those different requirements. I got to work with someone like Josh [Rivera, the show’s star], who’s a very great up-and-coming actor who I think has a beautiful [career] horizon ahead.”

Other pluses include an admiration for producer Murphy, who was also behind Scream Queens, on which Schwarzenegger also appeared in 2015, and his team. Then there’s Tebow himself.

“I was a big fan of Tim Tebow,” admits Schwarzenegger. “We’ve met once before, years ago, and that’s it. So I’m not friends with him.”

And though Schwarzenegger realized early on that “this show is not about Tim and he’s only a very small part of the story,” he still learned everything he could about Tebow’s personal background, including surprising details about the miracle surrounding his conception and birth, along with why the Philippines is his birthplace. Delving into his sermons, reading his books and listening to his interviews was critical to him showing Tebow’s relationship to Hernandez, as both his University of Florida teammate who wanted to win and a man of faith.

“I needed to understand why he was so passionate about religion, about Jesus and about faith,” he says. “It was my job to understand how he talked about Jesus, how he talked about faith, and what his relationship was to all those things so that I could go and pass that off onto Aaron.”

Josh Rivera as Aaron Hernandez with Patrick Schwarzenegger as Tim Tebow in American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez.

While there’s no evidence that Tebow, like so many others, was even aware of the extent to which Hernandez struggled or the weight he actually carried, that willingness to help without knowing the circumstances shines through. All of Schwarzenegger’s research helped him convey why Tebow “notices Aaron abusing drugs, partying, alcohol and so on” and “would reach out and help someone through their struggles to be this humanizing light for Aaron [because] that’s the kind of leader Tim was at Florida,” he says.

The small but impactful role is another meaningful professional notch for Schwarzenegger. “I’m continuously making strides in my own career. The next thing with White Lotus is obviously a bigger role than this was. [The Boys spinoff] Gen V was only a couple episodes and The Staircase before that was all eight episodes. So it goes up and down,” he explains. “But I just love to be part of really great quality projects that are interesting to me, and I get to try something new [that is] a challenge for me on the acting side.”

When it comes to divulging details about White Lotus’ highly anticipated third season, Schwarzenegger laments that “there’s not much I can say” but teases that “there’s a lot of fun elements, and it’s gonna be wild.”

He’s not mum about welcoming an opportunity to follow in his dad’s footsteps in one plum role, however. “Man, I would love to be Mr. Freeze,” he exclaims. “I think it’d be so fun and so cool. I have the very fondest memories of going to see my dad on set. I saw photos of him in his Mr. Freeze outfit and I think it was a hilarious movie. I always make fun of my dad for his one-liners, and especially in that movie.”

Despite some Internet rumors, Schwarzenegger reports there has been no movement on his end. “I’ve not talked to anybody,” he says. “I have no relationships, but I think what Matt [Reeves] has done and what they’re building at DC as a whole right now with Penguin coming out, The Batman coming up with Robert Pattinson, of course, it would be a dream come true to work on those in any capacity.”

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez releases new episodes Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX and Hulu.