Arnold Schwarzenegger’s secret son Joseph Baena has revealed why he decided to not to take his father’s famous surname. 

The actor, 26, is the love child of his famous dad and their family housekeeper Mildred Baena, with Joseph himself only finding out the identity of his father when he was 12-year-old.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain alongside hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls for his first ever UK live interview, Joseph revealed why he ditched the Schwarzenegger surname.

Joseph explained: ‘Yeah that’s a good question. I think the main thing is that I am trying to do things on my own and pursue my career with my will, my determination and my work ethic. It’s just doing everything through me.

‘My family is very big about supporting from afar and not being so hands on. I really appreciate that and I think it is really important growing up as a man to do things on your own and to figure it out.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s secret son Joseph Baena, 26, has revealed why he’s ditched his famous father’s surname

The actor, 26, is the love child of his famous dad and their family housekeeper Mildred Baena, with Joseph himself only finding out the identity of his father when he was 12-year-old

‘So that’s what I’ve been doing and it’s been working so far. I’ve been working really hard.’

In 2011, it was revealed that Arnold had secretly fathered a child with Mildred while she was working as a housekeeper for the Schwarzenegger family back in the 1990s.

At the time the actor was married to journalist Maria Shriver. They’d welcomed sons Patrick, 28, Chris, 24, and daughters Katherine, 32, and Christina, 30, during the span of their relationship.

But July of 2011, Arnold’s then-wife Maria filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage. In December 2021, the former couple’s divorce was officially finalized.

Reflecting back on the initial shock of finding out that Arnie was his father a year on from the Netflix documentary Arnold where his Hollywood father admitted that the infidelity tore his family apart, he said: ‘As a kid you don’t really question too much. It’s just how it is.

‘For me, I love my father. He is an amazing man. I love my mother, she is an amazing woman. So yeah, I’m just really happy and honoured to be a part of this family.’

Describing how he is now following in his father’s footsteps, he said: ‘He’s a great father. He has been nothing but amazing to me. He’s been very supportive with everything that I have chosen to do.

‘Going to Pepperdine, graduating from University and when it comes to my acting career and my real-estate career, my journey into bodybuilding and fitness – he is always there and he is a great support to have. He is a great dad.’

Appearing on Good Morning Britain alongside hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls for his first ever UK live interview, Joseph explained: ‘I think the main thing is that I am trying to do things on my own and pursue my career with my will, my determination and my work ethic. It’s just doing everything through me’

He continued: ‘So that’s what I’ve been doing and it’s been working so far. I’ve been working really hard’

He added: ‘For me, I love my father. He is an amazing man. I love my mother, she is an amazing woman. So yeah, I’m just really happy and honoured to be a part of this family’

Describing how he is now following in his father’s footsteps, he said: ‘He’s a great father. He has been nothing but amazing to me. He’s been very supportive with everything that I have chosen to do’

 Just like Arnold, Joseph has immersed himself in the word of bodybuilding and has garnered attention online for having a near-identical physique to the Predator star

He continued: ‘He always has great advice. I think for me it’s just been really funny because a lot of the things I have been pursuing, like acting and real estate, are like childhood dream jobs.

‘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.’

Later this year, Joseph will be starring in new American action film Gunner alongside Hollywood titans Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth.

Discussing the new film and how he has been influenced he said: ‘[It’s a] really exciting film. It’s such an honour to be in the same film as Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth. Luke is amazing.

‘They are both amazing actors and I had such a blast filming with the both of them. This film is just so action packed and I am really excited for everyone to see it.’

Finally, responding to Ed asking if he is inspired by his dad’s political journey: ‘I have always said that if my country needs me in that way, then I would love to participate in that.

‘If my country needs me, I would love to help out in any way that I can. I’ll just leave it at that.’

Arnold Schwarzenegger flexes his figure in front of Heather