Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dian Hanson speak onstage during ‘An Evening With Arnold Schwarzenegger’ at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on June 28, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mother was initially annoyed by the many male posters that hung on his wall as a child.
During “Night With Schwarzenegger,” the actor said his mother called a GP with concern.
Schwarzenegger said his parents’ biggest fear was that he was gay.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger aspired to become a world-famous bodybuilder, posters of boxers, wrestlers and bodybuilding champions adorned the walls of his bedroom as a child.
The sight originally upset the star’s mother.
“My mom would always look at that wall and say, ‘All your friends have pictures of girls. What did I do wrong?'” Schwarzenegger told a packed auditorium at the 966-seat Academy Museum of Motion Picture’s David Geffen Theater in Los Angeles, Calif., Wednesday night during “A Night With Schwarzenegger.”
“And she cried. She stood in front of the wall crying every day until she called the doctor, our family doctor,” Schwarzenegger said of his mother’s concerns about his posters.
Schwarzenegger recalled the doctor telling her there was nothing to worry about.
“He finally said, ‘No, that’s normal for kids that age. They idolize men who are strong. Don’t worry about that. He’s not gay,” Schwarzenegger said, adding, “That was her biggest fear.”
Schwarzenegger said that when he first became interested in bodybuilding, “Hercules” star Steve Reeves and English bodybuilder Reg Park became his idols and he began to read and follow everything he could about the sport. what they did.
“When I read that Reg Park trained five hours a day, lifted heavy weights and did 50, 60 sets and lifted 50 tons of weight a day, I did the same,” Schwarzenegger said.
Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1976. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images
“My parents thought I was a little bit sick and they thought I was overdoing it, I was obsessing and it was bad for my health,” he added.
The story goes on
Schwarzenegger became the youngest Mr. Universe in 1967 at the age of 20.
During the sold-out event, which also included a special 3D screening of Schwarzenegger’s top-grossing film, Terminator 2, the actor and former California governor spoke to Taschen publisher Dian Hanson and shared anecdotes about his life and the decades-long journey to get there the forthcoming release of a two-volume book about the actor’s life.
The $1,500 limited edition, titled “Arnold” (there are also $3,000 and $15,000 versions of the collection) will be available at Taschen in July.
Read the original article on Insider