Local time on the 23rd, 76-year-old Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about how he resonated with “Iron Man” Robert Downey Jr.’s gratitude for his troubled childhood because he too had emerged from a difficult childhood to create his own life.
According to a report by People, FOX TV aired an interview program with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone on Tuesday, with one of the main topics being their childhoods. Arnold mentioned in the program that Robert Downey Jr.’s Oscar acceptance speech resonated with him. Robert Downey Jr. expressed gratitude for his extremely difficult childhood and struggles in school, to which Arnold empathetically said, “I immediately understand this point.”
For Arnold, he also had an extremely difficult childhood, but like Robert Downey Jr., he is grateful for those painful experiences that allowed him to move forward in his life, not staying in that negative environment. Arnold recalled growing up in Austria, where his father, a retired military man, not only drank heavily but also abused him, leaving him with feelings of anger and much pain.
From the age of 15, Arnold started bodybuilding. In 1968, at the age of 21, with the help of others, Arnold stepped foot on American soil and continued bodybuilding to compete, winning titles such as Mr. Universe, Mr. World, and Mr. Olympia. He later transitioned from bodybuilding to the entertainment industry, starring as the “Terminator” in the “Terminator” series, reaching the peak of his life.
Arnold said, “If I had grown up in a loving environment like some people, I wouldn’t have left home, I would have stayed in Austria.” But Arnold admitted that the Austrian way of life would not have made him happy. Arnold said, “The drive for me to create my own life came from the necessity to escape the pain at home.”
Arnold not only endured the pain of his childhood but also arrived in the United States with only 20 dollars. It was the generosity of Americans that helped him achieve what he has today. Reflecting on his experiences from childhood to now, he said, “It is something to be grateful for.”
In the program, Arnold’s 77-year-old friend, Sylvester Stallone, later said to Arnold, “You and I had no choice, we had to do something. You escaped to the bodybuilding world, I escaped to the acting world because I was not satisfied with reality. I said, ‘This is my world because I don’t like the real world.'”