Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals his Nazi father’s ‘strange violence’
Arnold Schwarzenegger is opening up about his “tough” childhood at the hands of his “tyrant” father.
The “Terminator” actor, 75, will speak about his military father, Gustav, in his upcoming three-part Netflix docuseries “Arnold,” which will premiere Wednesday.
Schwarzenegger, who grew up in Austria, will talk candidly about his upbringing in the limited series, which details his personal life and career as an actor, politician and body builder.
The A-lister admitted that his father, a Nazi party official he described as a “tyrant,” might have suffered from a myriad of mental health struggles.
“He was buried underneath buildings, rubble, for three days, and on top of that, they lost the war,” he reportedly recalled of his father. “They went home so depressed. Austria was a country of broken men. I think there were times where my father really struggled.”
He accused Gustav of having “schizophrenic behavior,” leaving the actor and his late brother never knowing if they would get their “kind father” or the “drunk” alter ego. The siblings were forced to “earn breakfast” and even “compete against each other,” he said.
“He would scream at three in the morning and we would wake up and our hearts were pounding because we knew that meant,” Schwarzenegger said. “He could, at any given time, strike my mother or go crazy. So there was this strange violence.”
The “True Lies” actor, who lost his brother, Meinhard, in a drunk driving accident, believes his sibling’s drinking problem stemmed from their “tough” upbringing.
“The brutality that was at home, the beatings that we got from our parents sometimes — all of this I think he could not sustain,” Schwarzenegger said of his brother. “He was much more delicate of a person by nature.”
While his brother was more “fragile,” the so-called tough love was “beneficial” for Schwarzenegger because he was “strong and very determined.”
“Nietzsche was right: that what does not kill you will make you stronger,” the actor said.
But this isn’t the only bombshell the action star will drop in his tell-all doc.
He also detailed the crushing moment he had to admit his extra-marital affair with their housekeeper, Mildred Baena — and their shared child — to his then-wife Maria Shriver. In 2011, his ex-wife confronted him about his son Joseph, born in 1997.
“I thought my heart stopped,” the former governor of California reportedly admitted. “And then I told the truth.
“Yes, Maria. Joseph is my son,” Schwarzenegger said, revealing that Shriver “was obviously crushed by that.”
He will also delve into his experience in politics — apparently, Shriver was not thrilled that he was running for governor at first.
“She flipped out. I almost felt like she was hyperventilating,” he reportedly recalled in the docuseries, although she finally came around to the idea.
Schwarzenegger announced his campaign in 2003 while on “The Tonight Show,” and was eventually sworn in as the 38th governor of the Golden State. He served two terms before exiting office in 2011.
