Arnold Schwarzenegger Opens Up About His Lucky Life and First TV Series

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mere presence is intimidating, so imagine the trepidation when he starts a conversation with a stone-faced, “Can I ask you a question?”

He proceeds to wonder aloud what to do when people who have worked for him for “years and years” deliver him a mid-afternoon cup of coffee that’s, oops, ice cold. “You’re all fired!” he intones to his entourage before handing it back and adding, “Why can’t I get good help?”

For the record, he’s joking. The iconic star knows he has it good. He says as much just a moment later when asked how life has been treating him lately. “Well, I would say not just lately but in general, I’ve been very, very fortunate,” he explains. “I always say that I’m the luckiest son of a bitch alive.”

But luck only runs so far. Schwarzenegger’s one-in-a-billion story of a guy who goes from working-class Austrian child to five-time Mr. Universe to white-hot Hollywood action hero to seven-year California governor to impassioned social activist is also the result of some serious grit and dedication. “My dream was to come to America and be a world champion in bodybuilding and then get into the movies and be rich and famous—and that alone is a huge dream,” he says. “But to expand on that and get the chance to meet Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan and the popes, you know, it’s just crazy. But it’s an interesting life and it never gets boring.”

Now the 75-year-old can add a new line to that robust resume: TV star. In the action-comedy FUBAR (on Netflix), he plays a cigar-chomping CIA vet set on retiring until he’s recruited for one final mission to extract a top agent. Much to his shock, that agent is his daughter (Monica Barbaro, Top Gun: Maverick.) The pair quickly realize that their relationship has been a true lie and join forces to stop the bad guys. (FYI, “FUBAR” is military slang for confused and disordered and an acronym for F---ed Up Beyond All Recognition.)

The eight-episode series marks Schwarzenegger’s first live-action scripted small-screen role. “I never thought I’d be doing a TV series,” he admits. “But, you know, this was a great opportunity for me to get back into action and do something new. I couldn’t do this in the ‘80s and ‘90s when we only had about three networks. Nobody would have been interested in something like this.”

The star—also the subject of a June 7 three-part documentary on Netflix titled Arnold—still stays plenty busy off-camera, with no retirement on the horizon. A father of five (and grandfather of two by way of his daughter, Katherine, who is married to actor Chris Pratt), he still goes to his office every day in Los Angeles to work on speeches for various events and for his social programs. He and his girlfriend, therapist Heather Milligan, maintain an estate with their beloved horses, dogs, donkey, miniature pony and pig. And yes, the seven-time Mr. Olympia continues to exercise constantly (and gets quite physical in FUBAR). “I try to be in the gym every day—I’d say it adds up to 300 days a year,” he says.

Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger Makes His First Foray Into Series TV With FUBAR

Despite the lack of coffee, Schwarzenegger was game to talk about it all with Parade.

Mara Reinstein: How often do you wake up in the morning and think about the past 75 years?

Arnold Schwarzenegger: I don’t. I’m not a reflector. I’m not the person who thinks back. I always think forward, which is maybe a problem because I never really enjoy my victories. I was just doing an interview with Monica [Barbaro], who plays my daughter in FUBAR, and she was saying that she was working with a legend and that’s when it hits me. I’ve never thought of myself as a legend.

How did you get to Hollywood, anyway? 

Joe Weider was the publisher of muscle magazines and then he ran a company that made gym equipment and food supplements and all that. He was kind of like the godfather of bodybuilding. So, the trick was always for anyone to go to America and be discovered by Joe Weider. After I won two Mr. Universe contests, I got his attention and he sent me an airline ticket to America to train over here. And he provided a soft landing because he helped get me an apartment. He’s the one I give credit to.

You were 21 at the time. Was the move a nerve-wracking experience? 

I was behaving like a little puppy—I’d innocently just go and run around and not be scared of anything because I didn’t know there was anything bad out there. But I was very disappointed by Hollywood. I had these visions of all these huge movie studios like Universal Studios and Paramount and Warner Bros. and Disney and these big theaters all up and down Hollywood Boulevard. So, when I finally saw it, I thought these are Mickey-Mouse little bulls—t shops and people running around like crazy! I didn’t get it. I had to get used to the fact that all the studios were scattered throughout Los Angeles.

Did your perspective ever change? 

Well, I got my star on Hollywood Boulevard [in 2013] and I did my footprints and handprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theater [in 1994]. Joe Weider was there for both of those ceremonies.

What was your biggest barrier? 

When I came to America, there was tremendous prejudice towards German accents. You know people would call me a Nazi. But I didn’t give a s--t. I mean, I just wanted to climb the ladder.

When and why did people start to accept it? 

Let me tell you, “Hans & Franz” was without a doubt one of my favorite comedy shticks from Saturday Night Live. Those guys [Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon] were brilliant and got huge laughs. I was so happy that they took this accent and made it over the top. It broke the ice and made it totally acceptable to have the German accent. All of a sudden people thought, Oh, this is really cool. You know, they’re going to take care of your love handles! You can’t be scrawny! Like, even before I would get into an elevator someone would know it was me because they heard my voice. The accent became Arnold.

You reportedly made $10 million for Total Recall and $15 million for T2: Judgment Day and True Lies in the '90s. How’d you spend all that money? 

You don’t. Your lifestyle becomes more expensive, but the trick is to not live beyond your means. You need to still make those payments for your mortgage and your cars and your second home. But I was always business-minded, and I was always interested in making $1 and turning it into two. The first time I became a millionaire, it wasn’t from movies—it was from real estate investments. I would invest in apartment buildings and office buildings so I wouldn’t have to make sh---y movies. Too many actors did that just because they had to make a living. I never wanted to be in that position. And I always paid my taxes!

True Lies from 1994 is very similar in tone and story to FUBAR. Why do you think that movie remains so popular? 

Many of my action movies were seen by just men. It was like 65 to 70 percent. So now comes True Lies. Jamie Lee Curtis is in there. Sexy Jamie Lee Curtis. And she has a very powerful role—more so than the man. And it was comedy and action. There’s something in there for everybody! When the guy goes with the date to the movie, she’s not coming out saying “I hate this.” They thought it was so much fun. That’s what created this big box office. People are still talking about it, and I think that’s why Netflix did the series.

Funny enough, a True Lies series premiered on CBS this year. But it didn’t have Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

You stole my line!

What do you miss the most about being in political office? 

Creating policies with legislators that make life easier and save people’s lives, and just kind of pointing us in the right direction when it comes to the various issues. That can be kind of like an addictive thing. But I had an easier time getting out of public service simply because I had a career to fall back to. I wanted to get back to show business and still give speeches. Right away, I was booked for a speaking tour and got paid the same amount of money as ex-presidents.

There was never a time when you thought, Oh no, what’s next?

There was never a time where I said, “Oh my God, I’m not sitting in Sacramento. I’m a nobody now and I’m a private citizen and nobody cares about my feelings.” Politicians always have that when they retire. They call me and ask me how I handled it. And I say that even though I’m out of office, I still go to an office every day, working and preparing. I have the Schwarzenegger Institute and work with immigration reform and am always doing conferences, plus the TV series and going to movie sets.

Does it surprise you that your kids haven’t gone into politics? 

Right now, they’re thinking about other things. I think that one or two of them will eventually go into politics. They are very interested in policy issues. I always get notes from them and they send me articles about health care and immigration and ideas about inflation and the debt. When I was 30, I wasn’t focusing on debt! But they want to know, How do we get rid of the deficit, Dad? This is also due to the fact that they have a very, very smart mother. [Ex-wife] Maria [Shriver] is really good with the kids and includes them in her political activities. And they had very smart grandparents [Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver]. Obviously, all this rubs off.

Related: Actor, Governator, Dad! Meet All 5 of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Kids

During COVID, people got a kick out of your videos with your pet miniature pony and donkey. How’s life on the homestead these days? 

I just did it to make people laugh. But it started catching on like wildfire! The next thing I know, people are calling me about making a movie called Lulu and Whiskey. A producer is coming to my house to talk about it! Now when I’m doing a FaceTime call—it doesn’t matter if it’s Netflix or a production company—people ask me to bring Lulu and Whiskey into the shot. But it’s no problem. They love hanging out with me. I make them special oatmeal cookies with honey. There’s no sugar in them because I don’t want them to get fat.

This is a loaded question, but do you think things are getting better in the world? 

It is a loaded question. I think the next few years will say a lot. It’s very clear that we need new blood and energy in the political arena and we need a new way rather than the old bickering and getting stuck in the political corners. Recognize that we have a country of Democrats and Republicans and can’t just exclude and hate one side. When I was in office, I got tremendous ideas from Democrats. Why would I not use them? I’m not stupid. Just bring something to the table and let’s talk about it and solve the problem.

Are you an optimistic person in general? 

Yes, very. I have no choice. Even when I was a kid, I visualized all those things of coming to America and getting into the movies and being a champion. I didn’t care about the negative stuff and people saying it couldn’t be done. I couldn’t afford to listen to this crap. And the same is true to this day. I cannot afford to not see a future without pollution. I cannot afford a country where people are not working together. And I believe we can.

Check out Fubar now streaming on Netflix.

Next, See Arnold Schwarzenegger Effortlessly Jump Into Action to Help His City