Actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up about the "tough" childhood he had in Austria and what he was taught by his father, who he called a "tyrant", in a new Netflix docuseries that premiered on Wednesday. According to Independent, Mr Schwarzenegger said his father would make him and his brother "earn breakfast" and made them "compete against each other". Mr Schwarzenegger's father Gustav served in the Nazi party during World War II and was injured in the Battle of Stalingrad.
"He was buried underneath buildings, rubble, for three days, and on top of that, they lost the war. They went home so depressed. Austria was a country of broken men. I think there were times where my father really struggled," Mr Schwarzenegger said while talking about his father.
"There was a kind of schizophrenic behaviour that my brother and I witnessed at home. There was the kind father, and other times when my father would come home drunk at three in the morning and he would be screaming," he further said, according to Independent.
Both the brothers would wake up by the screaming, scared that their father will now "strike my mother".
"There was this strange kind of violence," the 75-year-old said.
Mr Schwarzenegger also said he believes his brother started drinking "because our upbringing was very tough".
"The brutality that was at home, the beatings that we got from our parents sometimes - all of this I think he could not sustain. He was much more delicate of a person by nature," he added.
The 'True Lies' actor lost his brother Meinhard in a drunk driving accident.
Mr Schwarzenegger left Austria in 1968, when he was 21, and came to America. He not only won multiple Mr Universe Competitions but also became the 38 Governor of California. He served two terms before exiting office in 2011.
Mr Schwarzenegger also became one of the biggest Hollywood actors, starring in several blockbuster movies. His series 'Fubar' is currently streaming on Netflix.
