Patrick Schwarzenegger believes his dad Arnold Schwarzenegger is still learning "what it really means to be a man"

The Austrian superstar launched his movie career in 'Conan the Barbarian' in 1982 and, two years later, he starred in the first 'Terminator' movie as the titular cyborg assassin - the role he is most famous for - going on to add numerous hit blockbusters to his resume.

Arnold - who became Governor of California in 2003 - was an icon to men all over the world during the 1980s, but Patrick insists his 73-year-old father has evolved as a man over the decades as masculinity has "shifted" over time.

In an interview with the Metro newspaper's Sixty Seconds column, he said: "I think the idea of what a man is has totally shifted in the past few years but also in the last 10, 50, 100 years.

"The way my dad grew up in the environment of Austria and Germany right after World War II, there were a lot of broken men. So as to the ideal of what a man was, there wasn't really much there.

"I think that kind of threw up, coming to America. And then marrying my mum and having our family, he's continuing to find what it really means to be a man."

Patrick - whose mother is journalist Maria Shriver - explained how there are different levels to being a man on an emotional level.

He added: "That could be how you are treating your significant other or how you are describing your feelings.

"It could be how much you are working out in the gym - that is probably how it used to be, this ideal of an alpha male. But it continues to change and evolve."

Meanwhile, the 'Moxie' star revealed he decided to move back in with his mother during the pandemic and they tried to do what they could to help people who needed support.

He explained: "I moved back during the beginning of quarantine because we didn't know how long it was going to last.

"One of the things we recognised was how many people were at home and struggling in terms of not being social or having certain anxieties.

"So me and my mom started these 'home together' online videos where we talk to individuals who specialise in mindset or routines or anything from cooking and home loans to small business mentoring."