TAFs EXCLUSIVE: Schwarzenegger on Sleep, "Expendables 3" Pain & More!

Editor's Note: This article originally stated that Arnold was injured DURING the filming of Expendables 3, but we have gotten clarification from Arnold's people that it in fact happened BEFORE the shoot started. This has been corrected in both our pre and post article comments and within Louise's interview itself.

For over a year now we have been replying and retweeting some epic quotes from one of our fantastic followers, Louise Mensch. Why? Because, like us, she knows what's best in life. Not only is she a big Arnold fan but she's interviewed Schwarzenegger on several occasions throughout his environmental, film, and political career. Today, as an exclusive, we're happy to bring to you Louise Mensch's FULL-LENGTH interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger! A much shorter version of this interview (roughly only one-third) was printed in Britain's Sunday Times yesterday, but TheArnoldFans has the full piece exclusively with an incredibly in-depth portrait of Governor Schwarzenegger!

Louise's opening might scare you a little so be sure to read our concluding statement at the bottom to make you feel a little more at ease knowing that Arnold should NOW be in better health. Yes, we're learning that Schwarzenegger was injured before Expendables 3 filming! So without further adieu...

Governor Schwarzenegger Interview by Louise Mensch

Arnold Schwarzenegger is defiant. He’s recovering from an unspecified injury, and doctors have ordered complete bed rest – no movies, no workouts, nothing.

So what does he do? He immediately accepts an invitation to speak at an environmental conference hosted by Senator Harry Reid, Democratic leader in the Senate. This will involve prepping from scratch, answering questions in a room full of environmental experts with two current and former Governors – both Democrats – and flying in and out of Las Vegas in a single day.

This wasn’t the first time I had met the Governor. And in a way, I have Piers Morgan to thank for it – or at least Twitter. Schwarzenegger had been my hero since I was young girl. My first sight of him was a giant poster from Predator on the back of my brother’s door – I can remember going into James’s room on any excuse, just to stare at that poster. At an all-girls Catholic school where the other chicks were into Bros and Duran Duran, I was knocked sideways by this brutish and uncompromising display of masculinity.  He took my breath away. He molded the type of man I would forever be attracted to; alpha males without a feminine side. But then I started to learn more about Schwarzenegger, and his story, and his insane drive to achieve and conquer; the emigration, the self-taught English, the business success. He was so much more than a hunk of eye candy. Along with Margaret Thatcher and Madonna, Schwarzenegger became my idol. When his career was crowned with the Governorship of California, it was intensely thrilling to me. He was not just some movie star; he had utterly transcended. And entirely on his own terms.

Fast forward to 2012. Now in New York, I watched Schwarzenegger promote his autobiography, Total Recall, on Piers Morgan’s chat show and tweeted about it. ‘It seems @Schwarzenegger runs to the centre,’ I said, ‘unless the GOP learns this, they will never win.’ To my utter astonishment his account retweeted mine, and then said “Loving these tweets @LouiseMensch, keep fighting for the centre.” This was like a benediction direct from Zeus on Mount Olympus as far as I was concerned. And yet a few weeks later I got a direct message from staff suggesting we meet up sometime when he might hit New York. There was a dinner with some other friends, and after my husband Peter hosted the Governor’s son Patrick at Coachella (he came too) I covered Schwarzenegger’s key immigration reform conference for the British newspaper, the Sun. All too often one’s idols have feet of clay, but Arnold Schwarzenegger turned out to be exactly as I had imagined him all those years ago, with no diminution whatever of his energy, drive and inexhaustible belief in achievement. (Nor of those breathtaking looks). In asking to interview him, I wanted to get beyond “what was it like working with Sylvester Stallone” to the deeper truths of the man who remains my role-model; who is the living embodiment of Thatcher’s up-by-your-bootstraps Conservatism, and yet with a free-living, socially liberal rebel spirit.

 Because he’s recovering, we meet at his home, a sprawling mansion in a gated enclave buried deep in a beautiful national park. You can tell Schwarzenegger’s house from the rest by the massive state flags of California, of which he is a two-term Governor,  hanging at the gates. His Hummer, converted to run on biofuels, is out front – as are various other cars – but I can’t see his personal tank. He keeps that one somewhere else.
I’m shown to a beautiful outdoor porch area, next to his pool, with a roaring fire and couches. His friend Ralf Moeller, a bodybuilder and movie actor, originally from Germany, is already relaxing there. We exchange pleasantries, then Schwarzenegger comes out of the house, greets me and starts to joke. He is huge,  his arms almost incredibly enormous, but it’s also clear he’s hurting badly.
 

‘Are you OK?’ I ask.

‘The recovery was going well, but there was a bad interaction with the drugs. Everything started to go black. They had to give me some pain medication.’

So the environmental conference tomorrow is canceled?

He stares. ‘No. Why?’

Because you’re in a lot of pain, I suggest.

‘I made a commitment,’ Schwarzenegger says. He grins. ‘I can stand up, right? We’re going. Be ready at eight.’

So we do go; a small party of political advisers and the head of USC prestigious Schwarzenegger Institute, that advances his centrist brand of post-partisan politics. And we fly on his private jet. ‘I off-set everything,’ he tells me. ‘But we have to get around.’

He is immaculately dressed in a tailored suit with an appropriately green tie. And on his enormous fingers (size 13.5 – I asked) he has a ring for each hand; on the right, the gold Gubernatorial ring with the state seal of California; on the left, a platinum Terminator ring, a white skull surrounded with silver. You can’t imagine any other politician in the world marrying up that level of cool.

Schwarzenegger’s fingers are so large he cannot type on an iphone, and he has to use an ipad. Sometimes he will dictate his tweets to his chief of staff. For now, the huge fingers are holding briefing papers, and he is reading, concentrating, and asking research questions.

In the hall, Schwarzenegger is due to speak with fmr Gov. Jen Granholm of Michigan and current Gov. Michael O’Malley of Maryland – a rumoured Presidential candidate. Both Democrats. They’re introduced before Arnold, who is clearly the main event, and he enters to thunderous applause; smiling, confident, on his game; nobody would ever know he was hurting.

Schwarzenegger has the audience eating out of his hands; he manages to turn the often dull subject of green energy into something interesting, even funny.

The US government sued California when he brought in targets. “They said greenhouse gases are not pollutants. I said let me strap you to an exhaust pipe for an hour. Then you’ll agree it’s a pollutant.’ There is laughter, perhaps slightly nervous laughter; most of the room could imagine Schwarzenegger doing just that.  ‘But we won that lawsuit. And after we enacted our targets in California, they were adopted nationwide. That’s regional power in action,’ he says. ‘Green needs a new image. Not all this complaining about the icebergs all the time. Tell people it brings in jobs, money. Tell them about energy security – we don’t want to depend on unstable countries for oil. The US Navy is investing in algae to power a warship. Algae! People aren’t going to change their behaviour, we must change the technology.’ Somebody asks about his Hummer. “Drive your Hummer – just convert it to electricity,’ he says to more laughs. Gov Jen Granholm tries to score a political point – “Arnold, your party left you on green issues” – and he crushes her. ‘Obama has a lot of trouble with Democrats in coal and corn states,’ he says. ‘Including his own Illinois. This isn’t a partisan issue. Make it partisan and you will get nothing done.” The hall – full of Democrats – applauds him.

I interview him properly after this event, interrupted only by Sen. Reid seeking an audience. And it is a hell of a story. Is anything off-limits? “Don’t worry about it.” Really? “I will let you know at the time.”

Maybe we could solve the energy crisis by just plugging him into the national grid, I suggest. Arnold has two movies coming out, the first Escape Plan, an action blockbuster where he co-stars with Sylvester Stallone. Then there will be Sabotage, later this year, and fans are thrilling with anticipation for Legend of Conan, another Terminator, a zombie movie, and Expendables 3. It’s an intense slate of work.

 You got injured, you had ten days off, and so you immediately book an environment speech? You really don’t like leisure, do you?

‘Leisure?’ He looks at me as though I’m speaking Norweigan.

You know, sitting by the pool… relaxation…

‘Why would I do that? I want to change things.’

But you came here today injured. Anybody else would have cancelled.

Schwarzenegger explains to me patiently, as though I might not be getting it. ‘It’s only pain. Remember, pain is temporary. What I’m trying to accomplish is permanent. I ask myself are you going to wimp out?’

So that joking you do… girly man, wimp – you apply that to yourself?

‘All the time. ALL the time. I call myself every name under the sun. If you heard me joke about this with anybody, it’s also what I say to myself, to get myself out there, make myself do it. Look, let me tell you about pain. When I was 19, I entered a stone-lifting competition, a kind of traditional German thing…’

How big was the stone?

‘Five hundred and sixty pounds,’ he says casually, as though talking about a bag of sugar. ‘But that is not so heavy, you know. It was more that there was just a little metal ring on the top to lift with, so it hurt your fingers bad. And it wasn’t about lifting the weight but about who could take the most pain of this little ring.’

Who won the competition?

‘I did,’ he said.

Naturally. Stupid question.

‘No,’ he corrects me. ‘I only won the day competition. Some monster six foot eight shot-putter beat me in the monthly.’

Who would even remember that? But even at 19, Schwarzenegger didn’t like to lose. He didn’t make a habit of it.

Last time I saw him he was hosting a bipartisan immigration conference, and as America’s most famous immigrant, was the driving face of the reform – unpopular with some Republicans. A massive bill is now going through the House. To a large extent, it is Schwarzenegger’s bill. Federal emissions standards are now 35 miles to the gallon – a concession he personally wrung from the Obama White House. On green issues, David Cameron, then Aussie PM Julia Gillard, the EU – all of them invite him to speak and jostle to have their pictures taken with him. And the Israeli press recently reported that following Schwarzenegger’s personal intervention with the Chancellor of Austria, the only holdout state, the EU had finally declared Hamas to be terrorists.

This is a massive exercise of soft power, isn’t it?

He smiles very slightly. ‘I don’t take credit for any of these things. You get more done in politics when you let somebody else take the credit.’

But there are plenty of movie stars and ex-Governors. None of them wield this influence. Schwarzenegger is getting more done out of office than in it.

‘Like I said, I believe in being effective. That's why I founded after school all stars and we have programs around the country. It's why I founded the  Schwarzenegger Institute at USC. And it's why I founded the R20.’ These are regional governments acting on issues when nation states fail to get things done – he travels the world in support of it.

You are combining this with a seemingly endless slate of huge action movies; and you recently took over as Executive Editor of Muscle and Fitness. Don’t you think about retirement?

‘And stop enjoying myself?’

So you love your work?

‘Is it even work? What is work? Sitting in an office maybe, shuffling paper, doing something you hate. I made sure early on this would not be my life. So I enjoy myself so much it’s not even work in the first place.’

I believe him. The public Schwarzenegger and the private man are remarkably congruent. He really is tougher than hell. He’s always laughing. Palpably driven, surrounded by friends. I don’t believe I have ever met a man so in love with life as Arnold Schwarzenegger.

You once told me you literally hated going to sleep.

‘Yes.’

I watched an early movie prepping for this interview, a bodybuilding documentary called the Comeback, in which you speak of your bewilderment at the idea of death. Do you hate it, like you hate having to sleep? Fear it?

‘Not fear,’ he says instantly. ‘I’m angry about it.’

Angry – because you have to stop?

Schwarzenegger nods. ‘All this fun, this change. I never want to stop. So I’m angry about the idea.’

Moving from the end to the beginning, I ask him to touch on his apparently abusive father – not much, because it’s been explored elsewhere, I say – but Arnold stops me.

‘No – no. I don’t believe he was abusive. You have to understand, that time. A different time. If he hit us with a belt, or shouted – all the fathers did that, it was nothing unusual.’ He reflects. ‘I suppose one night a week he would come in drunk, shouting – others did this too.’

Most would call that abusive, I suggest. But it sounds like you’ve forgiven him.

‘I forgive him, completely. Something else you must understand. My father’s generation of men were lost souls. They had fought the war and been defeated – their country was occupied. He had wounds in his leg, shrapnel, that hurt him all the time. So he was in constant pain. And he had trauma – today they would call it PTSD, but back then there was no therapy, nothing. So he bore all this, and maybe it contributed.’ He is tender as he talks of his father, and I have no doubt his forgiveness is quite sincere. His beloved dog, Gustav, was named for his father.

Is that why you never drink? Schwarzenegger has told me he has been drunk only twice in his life.

‘No.’

You didn’t want to avoid this model, stumbling home late and yelling?

‘I just don’t like the taste that much. I will have a glass of wine, sometimes two, then stop.’ I believe him; it is a mistake to project the all-American therapy model on to Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is simple and straightforward.

I want to explore masculinity and femininity, as Schwarzenegger has been my idol from my teenage years – a role model for a tomboy – and I believe he has much in common with Margaret Thatcher. When she died, he tweeted that she was “a warrior”, a description that made me cry.

You are the ultimate man’s man, I say, and he does not demur. But contrary to caricature, you have always supported women, and preferred strong women. His mother, Aurelia, provided a template, he says. Schwarzenegger founded the first women’s bodybuilding competitions, in 1978. Why?

 ‘I wanted them to have an equal chance with the men. Everybody should have equal opportunity.’

I turf out my ancient copy of an early book of his, ‘Bodyshaping For Women’, which was my bible for years. In it he states that “women are more attractive when they are strong and confident. To me, that is femininity – not some picture of fragility. You are more feminine when you are strong.’

Not the image some people have of him.

‘Listen – it’s OK to be vulnerable, of course. I’m vulnerable.’

You are?

‘Sure,’ he says, and I can’t quite get my head round it. I glance down at the massive Terminator ring . ‘And obviously anybody can go too far the other way, be utterly aggressive. But a strong woman is the most attractive.’

In the book – written when you were young – you say any woman can look good with exercise and she shouldn’t give up if she’s over 40 – like me.

‘With today’s technology we can slow the aging process. A woman can work on her problem areas, often thighs, the back of her arms…’ he starts describing this with a bodybuilder’s attention to detail, and I’m glad I’ve started on the kettlebells – and am wearing a long-sleeved dress. ‘You won’t stay twenty one forever, but look – when the movie On Golden Pond came out, Jane Fonda was wearing a bikini, she’s fifty, and everyone was flipping out. She didn’t have any specific potential to look great –‘ he is referring here to his own incredible genetics, that led him to 13 world bodybuilding championships –‘- she just worked her ass off. And she confronted the aging process and said ‘f--- you. I’m going to fight you all the way to the end.’ And it worked.“

Speaking of this, I bring up his recent photoshoot with Muscle and Fitness magazine. The pictures hit Twitter, leading to general disbelief. Schwarzenegger, at 66, has biceps bigger than my thighs.

That shot was incredible, I say. People will say it’s been digitally altered. Although I can see right in front of me that it’s accurate.

‘Well… they suggested it to me. And the editor wanted to answer … a few years ago People magazine ran a shot of me.’

I remember. By a pool, looking out of shape, and his age.

‘Because they were so mean-spirited, and they didn’t call to ask for an explanation –’

It’s interesting that Schwarzenegger feels he should owe anybody an “explanation” about the state of his own body – he is probably one of the only men alive to have been as objectified as any beautiful woman.

‘I had just had serious shoulder surgery. And after that you can’t do anything. You can’t lift any weights. I was recovering for six weeks. If you can’t train for six weeks, you won’t look your best – you can’t find an athlete who is in top form after surgery. But now, of course, I’m lifting again. So our editor thought we should let people see it.’ He doesn’t exactly say “Fuck you, People magazine”, but it’s clearly what he means.

I don’t know a single man in his twenties or thirties who is as built as Arnold Schwarzenegger today. He winks. ‘See it, believe it, achieve it. Right?’

Yes sir.

‘You’re working out hard?’

Yes sir. I actually want to rush off and find a gym in the hotel right away. He does that to you.

Can you tell me about the legendary story that you wrote down your life plan on a piece of paper, in Austria? Is that true?

‘Yes, it’s true.’

That you were going to be a bodybuilding world champion, come to America, be a movie star, a millionaire… what was on it?

‘All of that.’

Did you write you were going to be President?

He grins . ‘No.’

But a politician?

‘I wrote I was going to become a leader, something like that.’

Maybe you should have written President, because it all came true.

He just smiles.

‘How old were you? Already bodybuilding?’

‘No, not yet. Maybe when I just started in the gym, about fourteen, maybe.’

I stare. The idea is almost incomprehensible. That a fourteen year old boy, with nothing, no money, no muscles, no education, could write down what became the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger and achieve the lot of it – in that moment he seems to me something mythic, almost inhuman. I recover myself.

‘Did you keep the piece of paper?’

‘No, it was at home with my mother. She threw it out.’

Weren’t you upset?

‘Not at that, that was just a piece of paper. I was most upset because she threw away my stamp collection. I had all these stamps from different places. My father encouraged me – it was his way of teaching me about historical figures. In our school, nobody had any vision, the teachers were just preparing you for the factory. So collecting meant a lot to me.’

Part of your obsessive nature?

‘Probably.’

I digress for a moment into immigration reform, Schwarzenegger’s latest major political win.

You are going to be a huge part of getting this passed, but it isn’t really enough, is it? Only the Constitution stopped you running for President – the one that says you must be native born.

‘Yes. I always joke about making exceptions for Austrians, former bodybuilders…’

But he really did want to run for President, and makes no secret of the fact. Did he ever think of bringing a case under the Twelfth Amendment, I ask him. That was what won Bush vs Gore in Florida – the Constitutional right to equal protection under the law. Maybe the Constitution contradicts itself.

‘I believe this reform should be enacted eventually,’ he says.

I am also going to take American citizenship, as the wife of one American and the mother of three more, I tell him. But you and I will always be second best, because immigrants don’t have the rights of native-born Americans. And that means that there are two classes of Americans. Arnold Schwarzenegger, often called the living embodiment of the American dream, is quite literally a second class citizen. Surely that has to be wrong?

‘The last person to interview me was (former) President Vicente Fox of Mexico,’ he says, and I try not to get a complex. ‘They had a similar law there, that both parents had to be Mexicans. But he got the law changed, and ran for President. Yes, I think they should change it. But one step at a time.’

You are a man who runs with a pack – a posse. Always surrounded by friends. And one of those friends (like last night) is always a German or an Austrian.

He grins. ‘A complete co-incidence.’

I don’t think so. You kept your Austrian citizenship. If you cannot be President of America, ever think of running for President of Austria?

‘I love Austria, but I’m not at all thinking about a political future. I’m too busy.’

You can say that again. He’s in the middle of a political present. And on top of the international powerbroking are his interests in film, fitness, and education, any one of which would be a full-time job for a whole team of lesser men. In the fitness arena, Schwarzenegger is developing nutritional supplements, runs his own site, posts personally on Reddit, and organizes the massive Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio – a bodybuilding festival that grew exponentially to a multi-day expo covering 45 sports. It is wholly typical of Schwarzenegger that he is now taking it international – Arnold Classics have happened in Spain, Rio, and he plans to put them on every continent.  We all know about the movies - Escape Plan’s opening, with his one-time rival, now friend, Stallone, shooting the Expendables, a new Conan, and there is another Terminator. And on top of this he has another cause - the After-School All-Stars, which he founded, and leads – for kids in deprived areas to have places to go after school.

The All-Stars follows the typical Schwarzenegger pattern. Start big, and get bigger. Originally a summer sports program for kids in inner-city California schools, it’s now year round, covers more than sports, and takes in over a hundred thousand children across 13 cities.

That’s truly remarkable, I say.

‘Education matters,’ Arnold says firmly. ‘More than anything.’

Schwarzenegger and Michael Gove are an unlikely visual pairing, but they share a hell of lot when it comes to education. Like the orphan Gove, Schwarzenegger has risen from a humble background and he is passionate about education as a way out. As Governor, he removed the cap on the number of charter schools – America’s free schools. He is withering on Democrats that spend educational dollars on adults in the system,  not children in the classroom, and on unions that won’t allow bad teachers to be fired. Chris Christie won his battle on this in New Jersey, something  Arnold admires.

‘It’s called the dance of the lemons. They transfer bad teachers, instead of firing them, and they leave the worst teachers in the inner-city schools. Where kids are poor and need hope. We have to get them all great teachers – the good teachers in those schools don’t need to be handicapped with the bad ones. We need to extend the school year, make it more like Europe. The day should be longer. Crime drops, drugs drop, gang activity drops, whenever kids are in school. I want them all to have a chance, everybody to have the same chance.’

He used the same words about women previously; he sounds like a classic Reagan era conservative now, or a Thatcherite – equal opportunity as the goal.

‘That’s why I started the After-School All-Stars, to fill that gap of early dismissals and endless holidays. None of these state politicians give a damn about the bad teachers in these schools.’

It’s a strange passion for a kid who hated the classroom.

‘Because nobody at my school wanted to inspire us. Only Fredi Gerstl, who was a local businessman and politician in my home town. He supported sports programmes for the youth - Fredi was actually the one who told me to read up on Casear and Alexander and these people. To train the mind with the body. So I did it.’

But not in school?

‘Nobody suggested college. They wanted to prepare you just for a job. When I came to America, I studied hard.’

Why?

‘Nobody was telling me to do it, it was my choice. I’m a rebel.’ He chuckles. ‘Sometimes I think I’m like a little kid, the quickest way to get me to do something is to tell me not to do it, or I can’t do it. Then I will do that immediately. Like a two year old.’

Schwarzenegger taught himself fluent English and invested in property, becoming a millionaire long before he ever became a movie star. I point out that in five years between Hercules in New York and Stay Hungry, he went from incomprehensible hunk of Germanic meat  (both voice and face) to accomplished actor, winning a Golden Globe for his performance opposite Sally Field. Stay Hungry is his only drama, with no action component, and you wonder how he might have turned out if he had taken a different path. I think not as well; he loves the Terminator as much as we all do, hence the ring.

For many people, winning seven Mr. Olympia titles would have been their life’s achievements. For you it was just an appetizer.

He gives me a look that says yes, and?

Movies have three acts. Your life is the same; bodybuilder, movie legend, Governor. Now maybe a fourth, with all this activism. Schwarzenegger is far more powerful than the incumbent Governor, Jerry Brown – of whom no Britons have heard. His reach is global. But of course, he isn’t really a machine. I try to find a soft spot – if there is one.

What do you do for fun?

‘Shopping. I love to go shopping.’

Excuse me?

‘Don’t you like to shop?’

Hell no. Unless it’s a bookshop.

‘Where do you get your clothes?’

Online, I say. I will do anything to avoid the tedium of shopping. Have I finally hit on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s feminine side?

‘I like to buy a good suit, or a great cigar. I go to shops and ask lots of questions. I love to see how something is made.  Have you ever watched a cobbler, one who’s been doing it for many years, with a lathe?’

Can’t say I have. But Schwarzenegger is brimming with enthusiasm. ‘Can you imagine how exciting it is for me to watch skis being made? Or go to Havana, and see how they select the best leaves, hand-roll these cigars? It’s art. You know, when I was in England I asked to visit the Bentley factory. My friend Richard Charlesworth, who is the marketing director for Bentley, showed me around.’

Crewe and Nantwich, I say, recalling the by-election.

‘God, I loved it! I hung out with all the guys. I got a little dizzy from those fumes where they varnish the wood. I spent the whole day there, and they showed me everything.  It was so exciting to me to see how true craftsmen make a quality car, like they did in England. Filing the metal, by hand. Handcrafting the wood. They were stitching the leather themselves.  We all had a great time. I am always fascinated by seeing how things are made, whether it’s a classic car like the Bentley or the mechanism of a great watch.’

Well, Bentley are going to be pretty thrilled with this! I can actually see him on the factory floor, laughing with the skilled workers, insatiably curious. This is part  of what makes Schwarzenegger so compelling, to me. He dives into life completely, flinging himself at it entire, whatever he does in the moment completely consuming him. On his private jet he warned aides not to distract him “now we are focusing on green energy,” and he read his brief. The omni-achievement isn’t lack of focus – it’s serial focus.

You can imagine the guys up at the Bentley place when Arnie walked in. And your cigars… how does that fit in with the fitness crusade?

‘It doesn’t. Me being a rebel again.’

Does it affect your cardio?

‘Yes, a little,’ he says, glancing down at that broad chest. ‘I didn’t do it when I was a competitive athlete.’

Tell me about your children, I ask. Patrick Schwarzenegger, still a student at USC, is following in his father’s footsteps, already a movie actor, lifting weights and a heartthrob for the teen set. His daughter Katherine recently co-hosted major daytime show The View….

‘So far fatherhood has only been a great pleasure,’ he says, and his face is immediately transformed. ‘It’s amazing how much pleasure they have been to me and how proud I am of them – having the two girls graduated from college – Christina went to Georgetown, and Katherine to USC – both of them have ended up with great grades. I really admire Patrick’s ability to keep a balance between showbusiness and his studies, and his entrepreneurial talents. He comes to me for money for investments, and he doubles it… Katherine is writing a book about what to do when you leave college, she’s working it out for herself.’ He says Christopher is still in high school.  I ask if he talks to his son Joseph, also still in high school. ‘Of course. I talk to him regularly.’ Does he want them to go to university too? ‘Every child should get the education they desire.’

I sense that he is fiercely protective of the privacy of his children, and move on.

Who does he think the Republican nominee will be?

‘I think I should let them work that out.’

Diplomacy. I comment about Schwarzenegger’s wild keynote speech at Bush’s 2004 re-election conference, one of the best I’ve ever heard. To an orgasmic crowd he gives them the story of a patriotic immigrant – and in the middle of it, he starts speaking of his admiration for Richard Nixon. Who even does that, in this age of spin and careful messaging, tested by focus groups? Openly praise Nixon? It was one of the ballsiest things I’ve ever heard.

 “I saw Richard Nixon speaking on the TV, I asked, what party is he from? My friend says he is a Republican. I said well - if he is a Republican, then I am a Republican.” Wild cheers. I ask him if aides didn’t try to stop him, tell him he couldn’t compliment a disgraced President.

‘Nobody can tell me not to say something. The most they will do is ask “are you sure”?”

I nod; you wouldn’t argue with this man.

“In 1968, coming from socialist Austria, this is music to my ears. Open trade, pull yourself up by your bootstraps… I ask what party this Nixon is from.” He does an impression of Artie Zeller, his Jewish friend. “Richard Nixon? He’s fucking despicable. He’s a fucking Republican… I said – so, I’m a Republican…. If anyone does a movie about me, they need to get this scene exactly right. The look of disgust on his face, it was hilarious.”

And so at the convention you just said what you thought, forget the spin doctors?

‘Yes. Who can complain?’

Not me. Not the conference – they loved it. And Schwarzenegger’s star power helped Bush to a narrow re-election victory.

We’ve been talking for nearly an hour, and I can feel the death-stares from his staff boring into my back. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s time is valuable. And there is the pain of his injury, too, which he has been studiously ignoring for hours. Time to wrap things up.

‘Do you believe in God?’

‘Yes.’

Surprise shows in my face. I had thought Schwarzenegger an atheist.

‘You weren’t sure, now you’ve changed your mind?’

‘No, no. I believe in God. It’s just that I dislike organized religion. I think sometimes it can do more harm than the good it’s trying to do.’

‘Governor, you dislike organized anything.’

He laughs out loud. ‘Maybe. Yes.’

And this interview is Terminated.

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Thank you Louise, for this fantastic full-length interview. We look forward to your future interviews and Schwarzenegger-fan-friendly yet ballsy tweets. Follow her at @LouiseMensch unless you are a low-forehead.

Some of you might also be concerned that Terminator 5 and Maggie might now be cancelled. Fear not; as far as the news about Schwarzenegger being hurt prior to "Expendables 3" filming and how the doctors told him to take a break from filming movies, we believe Schwarzenegger is NOW back to fighting strength. Not only was Arnold fully in good spirits and appeared to be in good health during his September 20th "Arnold Series" supplement launch party, Louise tells TheArnoldFans that this interview was done a while ago; it was conducted the same day as Senator Reid's environmental conference. She says she believes he is fully recovered. But if you want more assurance, we have it! Abigail Breslin, star of Maggie (Arnold's character's daughter who gets infected by the zombie virus) gives us even more assuring news that Schwarzenegger is in good heath and able to work again. Abigail announces on Twitter that filming for Maggie starts tomorrow!

 @yoabbaabba: "SINCE I start filming Maggie tomorrow, my blog posts are going to be earlier at night now. :)"