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Joseph Baena’s first major film role, Bully High, deals with a subject close to his heart.
The 25-year-old son of Arnold Schwarzenegger told People he was, ‘really overweight’ while in school and the kids were not kind about it.
‘I was bullied when I was a kid, elementary, middle school, and not really in high school, but I just felt like an outsider in high school at the beginning,’ said Baena.
Familiar topic: Joseph Baena’s first major film role, Bully High, deals with a subject close to his heart as he was bullied for being fat as a child
Young boy: Here Joseph is seen in school, but he does not appear to be overweight
The apple doesn’t fall too far: Joseph has not only followed in his father’s footsteps with bodybuilding, he also is acting. Left is Joseph, right is Arnold
He added, ‘It was my closest friends that were the ones that bullied me the most and made fun of me for being overweight and all these kind of things.
‘So, that was really a big struggle for me in finding myself and figuring out and creating that ambition to change my weight and my physique,’ said the now ripped bodybuilder.
In his new film, which is streaming now on Tubi, Baena plays the role of class president and baseball player Eddie.
True to his character in the film, which he describes as ‘the studly guy on the baseball team,’ Joseph was also president of his high school class.
As a little kid: Here he is seen with his mom’s arm around him as a young child
Timely topic: This thought-provoking film is both a love letter and a scathing commentary about the prevalent and controversial issues of religious prejudices, sexual orientation, and bullying in schools
Baena described how his school experience prepared him for this role ‘being the president, I feel like I curated a good community within the school where everyone was very inclusive, all the clubs were running smoothly, all the dances ran really smoothly.
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‘So, for the bullying for this film, I just thought about the bullying that I received for being overweight, which is very different [to what happens in Bully High], but that was the most similar thing that I could personally compare it to,’ Joseph said.
This thought-provoking film, set in a contemporary high school, is both a love letter and a scathing commentary about the prevalent and controversial issues of religious prejudices, sexual orientation, and bullying.
Famous footsteps: While currently working as a real estate agent, he has been putting in the work to become a working actor like his famous father
The film follows a high school exchange student named Maryam (Aneesha Madhok), who is bullied and harassed by peers and teachers because she wears a hijab.
The Pakistani exchange student and her friend, Nicole, a Christian lesbian, fight to strip away stereotypes and stand up for their right to live peacefully.
The class bully, Scarlet Smith, has reasons for her mean attitude as the plot reveals her dark past is why she is a bully.
Last month, Joseph was spotted pumping iron with his dad at the famous Gold’s Gym after he copied his Conan The Barbarian costume for Dancing With The Stars.
Lookalike: Joseph mirrored his famous dad as he flexed his muscles in a leather kilt last month on DWTS
Demigod: While he dressed as Hercules to dance the Charleston with his partner Daniella Karagach, Joseph was the spitting image of his dad in the fantasy series
Taking to Instagram ahead of his performance, Joseph, posed in his dressing room to a song from Arnold’s 1982 hit film, Conan The Barbarian.
Joseph completed his costume with a pair tan trousers some leather wrist cuffs and styled his hair into a mullet.
While he dressed as Hercules to dance the Charleston with his partner Daniella Karagach, Joseph was the spitting image of his dad in the fantasy series.
While Joseph currently works as a real estate agent, he has been putting in the footwork to become a working actor like his famous father.
Earlier this year, Joseph told Men’s Health that he was eventually able to connect with his father over their shared love for bodybuilding and fitness.
To help with his training, Schwarzenegger ended up giving him a copy of The Encyclopedia Of Modern Bodybuilding, co-authored by the seven-time Mr. Olympia champion and considered by many to be the Bible of bodybuilding.
