(This story contains spoilers from the third episode of American Sports Story, “Aaron Hernandez, Pray to End Gays.”)
Patrick Schwarzenegger’s brief but much-talked-about turn as college football great Tim Tebow in Ryan Murphy’s latest film, American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, was surprisingly a role he wanted. “I wish they’d asked me, ‘Would you like to play Tim Tebow?’ I’m not at that level yet,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “It just landed in my inbox, like a good old-fashioned audition.”
Schwarzenegger is undeterred by his small role in the 10-episode limited series about a troubled NFL star whose fame crumbles after he commits murder and suicide, and he acknowledges that his approach to acting is different from that of his incredibly famous father.
“The funny thing is, I have a different theory than someone like my dad,” he explains, without mentioning superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger by name. “My dad always said, ‘Go for the lead role, go for the lead role, try different things, think big, big, big.’ When it comes to being an actor, I always try to think, ‘What are my goals?’ For me, it’s about continually learning and growing as an actor, surrounding myself with really great talent, great filmmakers, producers, teams, and also playing roles that are completely different from what I’ve done before.”
He continues, talking about his role, “And for me, this checked off all the different boxes. I got to work with someone like Josh (Rivera), who is the star of the show, and he’s such a fantastic up-and-coming actor who I think has great (career) prospects.”
Other positive aspects include Schwarzenegger’s respect for Murphy, producer of “Scream Queens,” in which he starred in 2015, and his team, as well as Tebow himself.
“I was a big Tim Tebow fan,” Schwarzenegger admitted, “I met him once many years ago, but that was it. So I’m not friends with him.”
Though Schwarzenegger realized early on that “this show isn’t about Tim; he’s only one part of the story,” he still learned all he could about Tebow’s personal background, including the incredible details of the miracle surrounding his conception and birth and why the Philippines was his birthplace. Delving into his sermons, reading his books and listening to interviews were essential to showing the relationship between Tebow and Hernandez, both teammates who wanted to win at University of Florida and men of faith.
“I had to understand why he was so passionate about religion, about Jesus, and about faith,” he says. “How he talked about Jesus, about faith, what his connection was to all of that, and then it was my job to communicate that to Aaron.”
Josh Rivera as Aaron Hernandez and Patrick Schwarzenegger as Tim Tebow in American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez.
There’s no evidence that Tebow, like so many others, even knew how much Hernandez was suffering or how much of a burden he really was carrying, but his willingness to help without knowing the situation shines through. All of Schwarzenegger’s research helped inform why Tebow “realized Aaron was abusing drugs, partying, alcohol, whatever” and “would reach out and help somebody who was suffering and be a ray of humanity for Aaron.” Because Tim was that kind of leader in Florida, he says.
The small but impactful role marks another significant professional milestone for Schwarzenegger. “I’m steadily moving forward in my career. My next role is White Lotus, which is obviously a bigger role than this one. (The Boys spinoff) Gen V was just a few episodes, and before that The Staircase was eight episodes, so there are ups and downs,” he explains. “But I love being part of really great, quality projects that are interesting to me and allow me to try something new acting-wise (which is a challenge for me).”
When discussing details about the highly anticipated third season of White Lotus, Schwarzenegger lamented that “there’s not much I can say,” but did promise that “there’s a lot of fun stuff and it’s going to be wild.”
But he’s not silent about welcoming the opportunity to follow in his father’s footsteps and play a major role. “Oh man, I’d love to be Mr. Freeze,” he exclaims. “I think it’d be so much fun and so cool. I have such fond memories of going to see my dad on set. I saw pictures of him in the Mr. Freeze costume and I thought it was a really funny movie. I always make fun of my dad’s one-liners, especially in that movie.”
Despite the online rumors, Schwarzenegger reports that nothing is happening on his end. “I’m not talking to anybody,” he says. “I don’t have any relationships, but I think what Matt[Reeves]has done and what’s happening across DC right now with the launch of Penguin and working on Batman with Robert Pattinson, in any capacity, would be a dream come true.”
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez releases new episodes every Tuesday at 10pm on FX and Hulu.
