Arnold – One Man Three Lifetimes

In the three-part docuseries, Arnold Schwarzenegger examines his eventful, varied and high-achieving life.

The hour-long episodes are roughly split among the three major phases of his adult life and career: Athlete, Actor & American.

Athlete is about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s childhood and his time as a champion bodybuilder.

Actor is about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decades-long career as an A-list action and comedy star.

American examines Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political career, including his 2003-2011 tenure as governor of California.

The Episodes of Arnold – One Man Three Lifetimes

In the first episode, Arnold talks about his childhood in Thal, Austria, discussing the tough childhood he and his brother had under his father, who was a former police chief and joined the Nazi party during World War II.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s father Gustav used to have Arnold compete with his older brother Meinhard for everything, often beat his kids — which Arnold ascribed to postwar PTSD — and told his sons “Whatever you do, be useful.”

Once he got into his teens, Arnold learned about the world outside of Austria and felt that he belonged somewhere else — eventually, he realized that somewhere else was the United States.

He connected with weight training in the city with Graz, and after seeing Reg Park in a Hercules movie and on the cover of a muscle magazine, Arnold found that bodybuilding would be his ticket to America.

After spending his teenage years in Austria and Germany training, entering contests and either winning or placing well, he did his obligatory service in the Austrian military, going AWOL to enter a contest.

Arnold Schwarzenegger eventually made his way to London, where he found that the bodybuilders there worked their lower bodies more than he saw in Austria.

In 1967, he gets a telegram from bodybuilding legend Joe Weider, inviting him to train with him in his Miami gym.

Arnold didn’t even go back to Austria; he moved to Miami and never looked back, entering Mr. Universe contests in the U.S. and eventually a new contest created by Weider, Mr. Olympia, pitting Mr. Universe winners against each other.

Arnold – One Man Three Lifetimes, The Episodes of Arnold, Part 1: Athlete
Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about his bodybuilding career.

The Episodes of Arnold, Part 2: ActorS1, Ep2
Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about his movie career.

The Episodes of Arnold, Part 3: AmericanS1, Ep3
Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about his political career.