Book reveals the real Arnold Schwarzenegger

In 2012, when action superstar and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released his autobiography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, the word “pandemic” was already mentioned in one of the last chapters of the best-selling non-fiction release. At that time, the COVID-19 virus was totally unheard of and social distancing was far-fetched.

Yet, Arnold, who successfully served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011, already feared in case a “pandemic” happened simply in his turf, Los Angeles, and 10,000 people needed to be hospitalized. How would the hospitals respond? That early, he wanted California to be prepared. Failure was apparently not an option, neither was it in his vocabulary.

Titled after his 1990 sci-fi action movie directed by Paul Verhoeven, Total Recall, the book traces the trajectory of Arnold’s childhood dream to set foot in the US, become known, ultimately famous and yes, rich. From the time he was a kid born on July 31, 1947 and raised in the remote, farm village of Thal in Austria, Arnold’s unbelievable ascent to body-building fame, Hollywood stardom and eventual entry into politics, is really something that a bestseller contains in its pages.

Growing up in rural Austria, Arnold dreamed big. Even if he did odd jobs as a young boy, setting his foot in American soil and going big time had always been at the back of his mind. He did not allow himself to be confined into their small house on top of a hill along the road.

Even if life was hard, Arnold lived with his immediate family — dad Gustav Schwarzenegger, a man in uniform of the gendarmerie (Austrian military); mom Aurelia Jadrny, who was a clerk in a food distribution center at the city hall; and older brother Meinhard, who was only a year older than him.

Arnold didn’t experience even simple trappings inside their abode. There was no plumbing, no shower and no toilet flush. The nearest well was a quarter mile away. Rain or snow, one of them had to go and get water for their cloth baths. They had lots of cats around, instead of dogs.

At 14, because of his height and his built, he readily landed a job in a construction site. With the money he earned and saved, he eventually bought himself a tracksuit, the inn thing at that time.

The year was 1969 when Arnold fulfilled his childhood dream to set foot in American soil. After winning body-building competitions in Germany and Mr. Universe in London, he started his American dream. Even if he could not even speak English then, he didn’t fake his happiness when he saw Times Square for the filming of Hercules in New York, where he played the title role.

The publicist of Hercules in New York found Arnold’s last name really unpronounceable. They dubbed his voice in the low-budget sword and sandal epic to do away with his thick Austrian accent. Then it was suggested that he change his last name to Arnold Strong or even Arnold Stang. Apparently, Schwarzenegger was retained.

After riding the great wave of all his action movies, Arnold undoubtedly managed to segue to a successful political career as a Republican governor. If the US Constitution only allowed naturalized citizens to run for president, Arnold would have easily staked his chances of running. And he could have won. But he was born and raised in Austria and was only sworn in as a US citizen in 1983.

Total Recall is very real and honest. Although belatedly, Arnold managed to share with the public not only his dreams, but even his disappointments, his negative side, the good and bad defeats, his big plans, the many what-ifs in his life, the hurts, the guilt.

In Christmas 1990, Arnold felt he reached the stratosphere of his career. He was on the cover of Time Magazine as “Hollywood’s top star” at 43 and he was tagged as “the most potent symbol of worldwide dominance of the US.” That December, Ivan Reitman’s Kindergarten Cop made a killing for Arnold at the box-office.

He dated and subsequently married into political royalty. Maria Shriver is a Kennedy scion. Her mom, Eunice, was the sister of former US president John F. Kennedy. Maria and Arnold secretly lived together for eight years in California, with her relatives and the public hardly getting wind of it. They eventually tied the knot in 1986 at Hyannis Port in Massachusetts.

The couple was blessed with four children. Eldest daughter Katherine married Hollywood actor Chris Pratt in 2019, while eldest son Patrick made his first starring role in Scott Speer’s romantic drama, Midnight Sun. Christina and Christopher are the two other children.

Even Arnold’s best-kept “secret” was ultimately revealed in the book. In 1996, while he was filming Batman and Robin in California (where he played Mr. Freeze), Maria and the kids went on a holiday. He admitted he had been unfaithful and spent the night with their housekeeper, Mildred. The result was Joseph, his son, born in October 1997.

The girl initially didn’t tell Arnold about the baby, as she was also married. However, the kid started going to their house to play with Arnold’s children. When the boy was in school age, the Schwarzenegger resemblance was so strong and became unmistakable. The six-footer hunk is now also into body-building.

Although Arnold hardly discussed it with Mildred, he later paid for Joseph’s schooling and helped him financially. Maria earlier sensed that Joseph might have been Arnold’s son and asked him about it. He denied. When the truth was eventually revealed, Maria and Arnold “amicably separated” at the end of his political term in 2011.

Today, 72-year-old Arnold lives quietly and peacefully in his Los Angeles house with his pony Whiskey and one-year-old donkey, Lulu, his chess opponent. Both pets are inside his house and serve as his joy even at this time of worldwide pandemic.