Patrick Schwarzenegger is getting into the holiday spirit – literally. As the new Ketel One ambassador, or rather, “spirit advisor,” the actor is ready to encourage us to get the good times going with friends and family, new and old alike.
“We’re the harboring kind of household that always brings in some of the people that want holidays with family, but are usually away from their family,” he tells PS, talking about the home he’s created with his fiancée, model Abby Champion. Ready for the holidays, Schwarzenegger is cool and collected as we chat about all things martinis, holiday traditions, and – of course – his take on the forthcoming third season of “White Lotus,” which he is in.
PS: Let’s get right into it: What’s your favorite way for you personally to drink a martini?
Patrick Schwarzenegger: Well, last night we had our holiday kickoff event and party, and I’m a massive martini fan. I always like to try new kinds of martinis. I’m also a big coffee fan and a coffee connoisseur, so I do love an espresso martini, but I usually tap out after one. Last night I think they were calling it an “espresso mint-tini,” and it had candy cane crushed on the outside instead of salt; it was mint-flavored coffee liqueur with Ketel, and it was really, really good. It made me feel in the holiday spirit.
But otherwise, I like a dirty martini. I’ve really become a martini person probably in the last two years. Once I hit 30, it was like I graduated from sugary, mixed margaritas into martinis.
Courtesy of Ketel One
PS: Do you do a lot of hosting during the holidays, and if you do, what kind of drinks are on deck?
PS: We do! We do a lot of hosting. I know my fiancée’s whole family comes out during the holidays. Last year, they spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with us. I think this year they’re just spending Christmas and New Year’s with us. I have a lot of friends who are from out of town or even out of the country, so they come and stay with me as well during Thanksgiving and come on Christmas trips with me.
PS: What are some go-to food and drinks for you guys during the holidays?
PS: Well, Ketel One got me this really cool martini kit to make some martinis at home, so I’m definitely going to try that out this year. And then as far as what foods we make, Abby and I love a charcuterie board. And then we try to make a dessert. This year we’re going to venture over to the pie side and make a pie.
Courtesy of Ketel One
PS: What are some holiday traditions for your family, even now that you’re an adult?
PS: I’m a sucker for the holidays, so on November 1, I put up my Christmas lights and all of my decorations. The day after Thanksgiving is when we always go as a family and get a Christmas tree, so I’ll be doing that again this year.
Other parts of our traditions are finding ways to give back. The holidays are a very special time of the year for a lot of people – a time to see friends and family and get back together – but for a lot of other people, it’s a tough time: Maybe they’ve lost someone, maybe they’re not in such a fortunate situation, or having a rough year or financially unstable or don’t have people to celebrate. And so, ever since I was a kid, we’d go to church the day before Thanksgiving for a mass, but also for a food drive. We’d go and see maybe a couple hundred to over a thousand people that are either homeless or don’t have the necessities or the ability to have a Thanksgiving dinner. Before Thanksgiving, we also do a food drive downtown where we pack up meals for families to have a Thanksgiving dinner with their loved ones.
PS: Do you tend to stay home around the holidays? Is there any travel coming up you’re excited about in the new year?
PS: I’ve been traveling so much this year, between shooting in Thailand and then coming back. I’m in New York right now for work. I go to Vegas this weekend for work, and then I go back to spend Thanksgiving in LA and then I go back to New York for work and then I go back to LA and then we do a little vacation for the holidays.
Then I have a bunch of travel in January and February, kind of all over. But that’s sort of the fun part of the job. LA is home, but we get to go and work and have a temporary home in another city, or another state and country, and it allows us to see other parts of the world.
PS: You mentioned “White Lotus” filming in Thailand. Was there anything that you were excited about behind the scenes that you got to do while there?
PS: Just experiencing that part of the world was awesome. To be able to get to see Thailand and immerse yourself in the culture and with the people. A lot of our crew was Thai and were locals, and just getting to live there for seven months – seeing different temples, monuments, and the beaches, the waters, the islands, the food. It was incredible.
PS: The food! How was your spice tolerance?
PS: [Laughs] I have a good spice tolerance, but I learned that what I thought was hot was not hot once I got there.
PS: What can fans of “White Lotus” expect from the new season?
PS: I can’t say anything too much, but they can expect an insane, fun, comedic, dramatic action season. Really fun.
PS: Is there anything you’re binging or watching right now?
PS: I just got done watching “The Penguin,” which was fantastic. We’re onto the new season of “Yellowstone.” My mom, Abby, and I have always watched [that show] together. Obviously this one’s a lot different without John Dutton, without the main man himself.
We’re huge TV fans. I mean, honestly, we’re just massive fans of “White Lotus.” It’s funny because all the big shows that are in the third or fourth or fifth seasons are shows that we’ve watched together. I’ve been with Abby for 10 years and a lot of things were started [at the same time as the first] “White Lotus.” We started during Covid when we lived with my mom, us three, so it’s just cool. That’s how we started to watch it, and now, I’ll be on the new season. Kind of crazy.
Samantha Leal is a lifestyle writer, editor, and editorial consultant who writes about beauty, wellness, travel, drinks, and more – basically, all the good things in life. She’s held editorial roles at The Knot, Latina magazine, Marie Claire, and Well+Good, and she’s written for PS, Bustle, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Travel + Leisure, Byrdie, StyleCaster, The Zoe Report, and more.
