Patrick Schwarzenegger is showing off a dark side — along with some new tattoos — in his latest role. The actor, who is also the son of Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger, plays an evil imaginary friend in the upcoming horror movie Daniel Isn't Real. A trailer for the movie dropped this week, in which Schwarzenegger goes shirtless, showing off a lean, muscular torso covered in ink.
The movie's plot follows college student Luke (Miles Robbins) who, in the aftermath of a family tragedy, resumes talking to his childhood imaginary friend Daniel (Schwarzenegger) as a coping mechanism. But Daniel isn't the friend he once knew; he's meaner, even dangerous.
Daniel Isn't Real is based on a novel by Brian DeLeeuw, who also worked on the screenplay with director Adam Egypt Mortimer. It made its debut at SXSW Fim Festival in March this year, and gained positive reviews. Schwarzenegger has said that an interest in mental health, particularly among young men, drew him to the role.
"I’ve really wanted to dive in and see what are some of the things that people are dealing with, or these alter egos that they’re having or these other voices in their head that are telling them to do things. This film plays with that," he told WWD. "To really go out there and show people that I can do a different side of a role and not just be Patrick Schwarzenegger on the screen. But really just dive into a total opposite character and really get to play. That was definitely one of the largest appeals about it."
Daniel Isn't Real will be released on December 6.
