ENTERTAINMENT'White Lotus' Star Sam Nivola Admits He Broke His NDA and 'Told His Parents' About His Shocking Season 3 Scene With Patrick Schwarzenegger
'White Lotus' star Sam Nivola broke his NDA and 'told his parents' about his shocking intimate scene with Patrick Schwarzenegger.
March 24 2025, Published 5:16 p.m. ET
White Lotus star Sam Nivola is "really scared" about getting sued by HBO.
When he found out about his character Lochlan's steamy, intimate scene with Patrick Schwarzenegger, he broke his NDA and decided to tell his parents.
'White Lotus' star Sam Nivola broke his NDA in telling his loved ones about an intimate scene with Patrick Schwarzenegger.
On the March 23 episode of The White Lotus, Lochlan engages in a threesome with his brother, Saxon (Schwarzenegger), and fellow resort guest Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon). He is even seen pleasuring his older brother while engaging in sexual activity with Chloe.
These events followed another graphic scene from episode 5, where Chloe and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) dare the boys to kiss as they spend an evening partying together on Greg (Jon Gries)'s boat. First, Chloe and Chelsea kiss, then Chloe and Lochlan, and next Lochlan and Saxon. The brothers start off with a peck before Lochlan pulls Saxon back in for more.
Sam Nivola told girlfriend Iris Apatow about his intimate 'White Lotus' scenes with Patrick Schwarzenegger.
Before the episode aired, Nivola, 21, wanted to warn his loved ones about the incest scenes.
"I told my parents, but I haven’t told my sister. She’s bad at keeping secrets," he told Variety on March 23. "I’m not supposed to have told anyone, because I’m under a lot of NDAs."
Nivola also admitted to telling his girlfriend, fellow actress Iris Apatow, while on set in Thailand.
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Sam Nivola's character, Lochlan, gets intimate with his brother, Saxon, on 'The White Lotus.'
Nivola expressed how awkward it was shooting with Schwarzenegger, considering the two are "really good friends" and both straight in real life. He had known Schwarzenegger, 31, since they auditioned together, where as he met Le Bon, 38, just days before they shot nude scenes in bed.
"It would have been easier if that was the first time we were meeting," Nivola said of filming intimate scenes with Schwarzenegger. "Weirdly, it was easier to do things with Charlotte because there were no stakes. It’s just this person I’ve just met. But Patrick was already like a brother to me. It felt sort of f----- up."
Sam Nivola and Patrick Schwarzenegger are 'really good friends' off screen.
Lochlan is rumored to be homosexual on the series. However, Nivola thinks his character's sexuality is less black and white than some people see it.
"He really looks up to both of his siblings, not from the point of view of a physical attraction. It’s more curiosity, and trying to figure out which kind of person he is going to become. He tries to connect with him in whatever way he can," Nivola explained. "Looking at Saxon while he’s jerking off is not a sexual thing — it’s more that he’s studying him: 'Who is this guy? How can I get him to like me? How can I become more like him?'"
Nivola said that the show's creator, Mike White, doesn't look at the world through a "gendered lens."
"The point he is always making is that people are all the same," the actor added. "Lovable, yet rotten at their core."
