Arnold Schwarzenegger hated the idea of living a ‘normal’ Austrian life — finding work, getting married, raising a family. Growing up in the quaint town of Thul, Schwarzenegger’s father was a violent “tyrant” suffering from PTSD, having been buried under rubble for three days during World War Two. Craving a different life, Arnie went as far as questioning his parentage, briefly convincing himself he was actually the son of a victorious American soldier. “When I was in school I already felt like I didn’t belong here,” he says at the start of the Netflix series on his life. “I belong somewhere else.”

Post-war rural Austria provided little inspiration for following an alternative path. Schwarzenegger’s horizons were eventually broadened by trips to nearby Graz with his older brother, exposing them to the potential of city living. During one of these trips, in 1961, Schwarzenegger found himself standing transfixed outside Graz’s cinema, gawping at the poster for the latest Hercules film, awed by the physique of lead actor Reg Park. Arnie finally knew who he wanted to be: “He was the blueprint for where I want to go in life.”

Arnie wanted the life of a Leeds United reserve.

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