‘It’s A Little Weird.’ Patrick Schwarzenegger Says One Hard Part Of Filming Gen V He Thinks Should Be Taught In Acting Classes

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In contemporary Hollywood, visual effects have firmly established themselves as a common feature, and it’s likely they will continue to do so. These effects aren’t exclusive to large-scale productions; they are utilized across different genres such as horror, drama, and romance. Given this trend, actor Patrick Schwarzenegger advocates for the updating of acting school curriculums, with a focus on teaching students about working on green screen sets.

Film technique known as chroma key compositing, often associated with green/blue screens, has been a staple in filmmaking for close to a century. However, it’s undeniable that its usage has significantly increased over time, particularly in recent periods. Notably, a prominent actor recognized for his roles in ‘Gen V’ and ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, believes the industry could make improvements in preparing actors for this technique. Recently, Arnold Schwarzenegger shared his experiences on the popular online series Hot Ones, describing his initial encounter with a green screen stage. He detailed his memories of that experience.

In acting classes, they don’t typically cover work with green screens, which I believe should be included. During my work on The Boys and The Gen V show, for instance, I encountered green screens for the first time during filming. On my first day, we were shooting in a studio where they had created an impressive dorm room set. On that day, there was a scene where I woke up, went to the door, and opened it to find myself staring at a blank green (or blue) screen instead of a real backdrop.

Chroma key has numerous applications and uses, and it’s easy to see why it presents unique challenges for actors. Beyond embodying their characters, working with green screens or blue screens necessitates an additional degree of creative thinking that needs to be incorporated into their performances.

As Patrick Schwarzenegger continued, he demonstrated his point by portraying Luke Riordan, also known as Golden Boy. With an abundance of materials from the character’s dorm room setting to work with during filming, he then had to leave that environment and move into what was referred to as “the outside” for an action scene.

All of a sudden, the director shouts, ‘Alright, now it appears as if trees are approaching you!’ Also, ‘You’ll perceive sounds coming from your right!’ And you find yourself twisting around, then he says, ‘Now, the trees seem to be falling upon you!’, and you can’t help but exclaim, ‘Ah!’ So, it feels a bit unusual, not having prior experience with special effects or green screen work.

As a non-actor or educator, I don’t have personal experience with teaching performance on a green screen stage, but I can imagine that the fundamental objective would be providing exposure and practical experience. In any situation, if someone gets a chance to work hands-on with chroma key sets before they come across it professionally, they are likely to feel more at ease when working in such an environment.

Currently, it’s uncertain whether Patrick Schwarzenegger will appear in the second season of Gen V Season 2 (note: Golden Boy tragically died in the first episode of Season 1, but he has reappeared through flashbacks and hallucinations). However, it is almost certain that he is engaged in green screen work for other projects at this time. Lately, he has been involved with the romantic drama Love Of Your Life alongside Margaret Qualley, and he is anticipated to resume his role as Donny Mitchell in The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, set to premiere on August 27 for Amazon Prime Video subscribers.

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2025-08-26 11:40