Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Celebrity, Film and TV, Parenting
Arnold Schwarzenegger's son Joseph has revealed the reason he's not taken his dad's surname.
Joseph Baena may've known The Terminator star is his dad for over 10 years now, but he's maintained his decision to keep his mom's maiden name as his surname.
Catch him chatting about the pair's relationship here:
Advert
Schwarzenegger shares four children with former partner Maria Shriver, however, just over 10 years ago, it came to light he'd conceived another child with his family housekeeper, Mildred Baena.
Joseph was around 13 years old when he found out Schwarzenegger was his father - with the actor having had an affair with Baena in 1996 while still married to Shriver.
Despite Joseph and Schwarzenegger getting along, the now-26-year-old has never taken his father's surname, with Joseph telling Inside Edition in 2022 he 'already [has] a last name' and doesn't 'have a problem' with it but 'like[s]' it.
However, there's a deeper meaning to why Joseph has never decided to swap Baena for Schwarzenegger and he's opened up about it in an interview with Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid and Ed Balls.
In an interview on the ITV daytime show, Joseph explained the 'main thing' about him not changing his surname to his dad's is because he's 'trying to do things on [his] own'.
"And pursue my career with my will, my determination and my work ethic," he continued. "It's just doing everything through me."
Joseph explained his family is 'very big about supporting from afar and not being so hands on' which he notes he 'really appreciate[s]'.
He added: "I think it is really important growing up as a man to do things on your own and to figure it out.
"So that's what I've been doing and it's been working so far. I've been working really hard."
Despite not wanting to take his father's surname that hasn't stopped Joseph from following in Schwarzenegger's footsteps, becoming a bodybuilder and also starring in upcoming American action release Gunner - on top of a 'side hustle' of selling properties that is.
Joseph resolved: "Some children grow up wanting to be a firefighter or an astronaut, but I have always loved film and I have always wanted to be an actor.
"It's just the way the cards have played out. We happen to do and like a lot of the same things."
