Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to financially support son Joseph once he graduated

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By Phoebe Egoroff

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Arnold Schwarzenegger may be The Terminator, the former Governor of California, and seven-time Mr. Olympia - but that doesn't mean his children get an easy break.

In fact, one of the 76-year-old's sons, Joseph Baena, has revealed that Schwarzenegger - who had Baena following an affair with his housekeeper Mildred Baena - chose to stop financially supporting him after he graduated college.

The 25-year-old discovered that he was the son of the bodybuilding legend back in 2011 from his grandmother, and has since said that the revelation "transformed" his life.

Appearing on the Unwaxed podcast - hosted by two of Sylvester Stallone's daughters, Sophia and Sistine - Baena stated: "I'm really grateful that my dad helped me get through college. But right when college was done, it was just like, 'You go. You're on your own.' I was like, 'Oh, s**t'."

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The actor wanted his son to stand on his own two feet. Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty

Baena then added that he became a realtor to support himself when finishing college. Though, he does dream of becoming an actor like his action star father.

"I needed a job, and I was not getting any of the acting roles that I thought I was going to get," he said. "I was like, 'I need to do something', so I started interning at this real estate company."

As it would turn out, Baena ended up loving the job, realizing that it was his passion. Taking to Instagram, Baena posted a photo after he'd sold his first property in Santa Monica.

Baena has managed to score some acting roles, with his most recent being in the flick Bully High - which was released on the streaming platform Tubi in late 2022. Though, the young actor did reveal to PEOPLE that he doesn't like to ask his dad acting advice, saying that he'd much rather figure it out on his own.

"The main thing is just the work, putting in the work, putting in the reps," Baena says is the main advice Schwarzenegger has given him about his acting career. He then explained that "90 percent of the time, I want to figure it out on my own. I want to work hard and put in the reps and work on my craft my own.

"There's no shortcuts in this. There's no shortcuts in acting, and in really anything."

Baena continued: "And so, that's what I want to get out of it is I want it to be my hard work and my ambition that gets me to that success. So it's very minimal that I go to him and ask for advice because I want to figure it out on my own."

As well as figuring things out for himself, Baena revealed that he made the decision not to use his father's last name. "My dad is old-school; he doesn't believe in handouts. He believes hard work pays off, and so do I," he stated.

"When I go to auditions, they don't know who I am because we don't have the same last name," he continued, adding that when he's landed roles he knows that "it's all me."

The youngest son of the Hollywood icon has also followed in his father's footsteps in the gym, and showed off his toned physique at the now-legendary Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, Los Angeles, earlier this year.

In a series of pictures shared on his social media, Baena strikes a pose in the very same venue the iconic bodybuilder used to work out at after moving to the United States in 1968 - and fans couldn't help but point out the resemblance to The Terminator star. Check out Baena's buff pictures below:

One user wrote: "Look like your dad in his younger days well done."

Another said: "Looking so much like yo daddy!" while a third user remarked: "You look at hell of a lot like an Austrian bodybuilder I used to enjoy playing a barbarian back when I was 12 years old."

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Schwarzenegger's son is the spitting image of his dad. Credit: Jack Mitchell / Getty

And it cannot be denied! Those are certainly some strong genes!

Featured image credit: Dominik Bindl / Getty