Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he “eliminated” his feelings of grief following the deaths of his brother and father.
In new three-part Netflix documentary Arnold, the 75-year-old actor discusses his journey to stardom and talks about his home and family life.
Speaking about his childhood, the Austrian-born former bodybuilder described this period as being marred by a “strange violence”.
You can call me anything you want. But don’t call me self-made. Tomorrow… @netflix pic.twitter.com/tA8Tm0rcfg
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) June 6, 2023
The Terminator star said his brother, Meinhard Schwarzenegger, who died in a drink-driving related car crash in 1971, was damaged in the process.
Schwarzenegger, also known for fantasy film Conan The Barbarian and science fiction movie Predator, said his brother was “fragile”.
He added: “The very thing that made me who I am today was the very thing that destroyed him.”
More than a year-and-a-half after his brother’s death in 1972, his father, Gustav Schwarzenegger, died following a stroke that had left him unable to communicate.
In the documentary, archive footage shows Schwarzenegger saying he “had no feelings” after the deaths of his father and brother.
He said: “I eliminated it. It maybe comes out sometimes in my life later on, those feelings…
“I’ve been training myself to do that, not to be affected by anything else from the outside.”
Arnold — a three part documentary about Arnold Schwarzenegger's incredible career — premieres in 12 hours! pic.twitter.com/CaOCkloiCF
— Netflix (@netflix) June 6, 2023
Discussing how he deals with grief now, Schwarzenegger said: “I’m not an expert in psychology or anything like that. All I can tell you is just that, when you’re a person that has always a goal, that always has a mission, the less time that you have to think about ‘How do I feel today?’”
The actor has also been a Republican Party governor of California and was recognised for his “inspiring” advocacy for climate change by former UK prime minister David Cameron.
In the new documentary, Mr Cameron said: “When I became leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, one of the first things I did was to point out it is a conservative thing to be concerned about the environment.
“It was very inspiring to see someone running one of the most important economies in the world, but at the same time saying ‘Actually, these two things aren’t in conflict’.
“If you want a growing economy, you need to have, long term, a green economy too.”
Bodybuilding was the means by which Schwarzenegger found fame, but at the age of 75 he said he is now “just fighting to hold on”.
He revealed he went through a stage of feeling as though he had lost his physique but added: “Now I don’t even look at that anymore that way.”