Arnold Schwarzenegger says his mother ‘freaked out’ over pictures of naked men on his bedroom walls
"'If you want to use your muscles, go chop wood'," Schwarzenegger recounted being told by his father.
In his new documentary, Arnold Schwarzenegger has discussed how his parents perhaps questioned his sexuality.
Arnold was released on Netflix on Wednesday (7 June) and sees the actor-bodybuilder-politician recount his journey from growing up in Austria to Hollywood stardom.
In the first episode (‘Athlete’) Schwarzenegger recalled being “in a trance” after seeing a movie poster of the muscular English bodybuilder Reg Park.
Park played Hercules in several films in the 1960s. He was also named Mr Universe in 1951, 1958, and 1965.
Schwarzenegger was “so amazed” by Park’s physique that he said: “I could not get it out of my mind.”
This came as The Terminator star was beginning to get interested in women. Schwarzenegger then saw Park in American muscle magazines where the Englishman discussed his training regimen.
“I had to do that,” Schwarzenegger decided. “This guy is my idol. He was my blueprint to where I want to go in life,” he also said.
“My mother got freaked out”
But this concerned his parents when they saw pictures of oiled-up muscular men on his bedroom walls, not women.
“My mother got freaked out,” Schwarzenegger confirmed. “She said, ‘My son doesn’t have one girl up here. Look at that. It’s only naked men, oiled-up. Where did we go wrong?’,” he went on to say.
Schwarzenegger also revealed his father took issue with his bodybuilding as it was not the ‘done thing’.
“‘If you want to use your muscles, go chop wood’,” Schwarzenegger recounted being told by his father.
In the series, Arnold Schwarzenegger also discussed his life in Hollywood and the roles that made him famous.
As well as The Terminator, he also starred in films like Commando, Conan the Barbarian, and Kindergarten Cop.
He later turned to politics, becoming the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011.
Schwarzenegger was accused of groping six women in an investigation published in the run-up to his 2003 election. At the time he said the story was untrue.
In the Netflix series, he apologised saying: “Forget all the excuses, it was wrong.”
Arnold is streaming on Netflix now.