Arnold Schwarzenegger has left people divided after weighing in on whether there is an afterlife.
In a candid conversation with longtime friend and Twins co-star Danny DeVito, the 77-year-old action legend opened up about his beliefs on religion, the afterlife, and what he really thinks happens when we die.
The interview, published in Interview Magazine, offers a surprisingly raw take from the man who once said: “I’ll be back.”
The duo, who first won audiences over in their 1988 comedy as genetically engineered twin brothers, reunited for a heart-to-heart ahead of Schwarzenegger’s three-part Netflix docuseries.
The series, which dropped on June 7, 2023, traces his remarkable journey from Austrian bodybuilder to global action star and California governor.
During the discussion, DeVito – known for iconic roles in Matilda and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – asked Schwarzenegger a weighty question: “What’s in the future for us?”
Schwarzenegger didn’t hold back.
“It reminds me of Howard Stern’s question to me,” he said. “‘Tell me, governor, what happens to us when we die?’ I said, ‘Nothing. You’re six feet under. Anyone that tells you something else is a f***ing liar.’
“I said, ‘We don’t know what happens with the soul and all this spiritual stuff that I’m not an expert in, but I know that the body as we see each other now, we will never see each other again like that.'”
Known for his legendary physique and a record-setting seven Mr. Olympia titles, Schwarzenegger has spent decades defying limits – but death, he says, is one thing that makes him deeply uncomfortable.
“When people talk about, ‘I will see them again in heaven,’ it sounds so good, but the reality is that we won’t see each other again after we’re gone. That’s the sad part. I know people feel comfortable with death, but I don’t,” he admitted.
Having lost “15 friends in the last 20 or so years” from his bodybuilding community, Schwarzenegger shared a deeply personal redefinition of what heaven means to him now.
“To me, heaven is where I put a person who I love dearly, who is kind, who is generous, who made a difference in my life and other people’s lives,” he said.
“I keep them in a spot in my head, like that front row that you have of all of your friends. And you always have a good feeling when you think of them.”
Naturally, people disagreed with Arnie’s views, with one person writing on X: “He’s completely wrong. Heaven and hell are real, and God gave His only Son Jesus to die a brutal death on a cross to save us.”
Others, however, agreed with what the action star had to say.
What do you think?
