Despite Leaving His Mom ‘Horrified’, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s First Task as Father Backed Him a $108M Movie in 1994: “I’m Sorry, This Is Too Much for Me”

Arnold Schwarzenegger went from a little town in Austria to the United States and slowly but steadily built an empire for himself that started with bodybuilding. However, his parents, especially his mother, stayed back in Thal, with the same traditional belief system as she always did. Therefore, years later, when Schwarzenegger was helping his then-wife Maria Shriver deliver their first baby, Katherine Schwarzenegger, his mother was ‘horrified’ at the sight of her son “videotaping” the whole thing.

Schwarzenegger even took “Lamaze” classes with his wife when she was pregnant, to show solidarity, support, and strength as about-t0-new-parents then. Schwarzenegger’s mother, Aurelia Schwarzenegger, didn’t completely comprehend that as well. All of this real-life practice, though, helped Schwarzenegger land a major role in an Ivan Reitman-directed comedy film in 1994, that earned as much as $108 million.

Arnold Schwarzenegger did everything he could to support his pregnant wife

In his autobiographical book Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, released in 2012, Schwarzenegger said, “Somebody made a video of me imitating our Lamaze class, and seeing that helped convince Ivan Reitman to do the movie Junior, in which I play a scientist who becomes pregnant as part of a scientific experiment”. Schwarzenegger’s Lamaze classes may have ‘horrified’ her mother, but what he did during delivery shocked her even more.

“You’re down there helping pull out the baby?” asked Aurelia Schwarzenegger to her son, as he quoted her in the book. She continued, “I’m sorry, this is too much for me”. She couldn’t handle watching something that she was not privy to.

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Schwarzenegger admitted in the book that he did all of that since every parent in America did the same. It was a way for the father to show deep care and love toward his wife and his child. Little did he know that it would even have a huge impact on his career, both movie-wise and business-wise.

Junior was an instrumental film in Schwarzenegger’s career

Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in ‘Junior’ in 1994, where he played a scientist Dr. Alex Hesse, who along with Dr. Larry Arbogast, played by his good friend Danny DeVito, create an experimental drug that helps women conceive. Dr. Hesse tries that on himself one day accidentally and then he gets pregnant. Things take an unexpected turn from there on. However, the movie wouldn’t have been conceived if not for a real-life experience Schwarzenegger had in 1989.

Junior had an enormous impact on his career as well as his personal life, as his friendship with DeVito and Reitman only solidified. Schwarzenegger and Shriver, of course, had 3 more children together, and their dad was always there to help and support them. Unfortunately, he and Shriver called it quits some years back, but they remain friends and share equal responsibilities towards their children.

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