With an almost unpronounceable surname and a thick Austrian accent, who
would have ever believed that a brash, quick talking bodybuilder from a
small European village would become one of Hollywood's biggest stars,
marry into the prestigious Kennedy family, amass a fortune via shrewd
investments and one day be the Governor of California!?
The amazing story of megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger is a true "rags to
riches" tale of a penniless immigrant making it in the land of
opportunity, the United States of America. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born July 30, 1947, in the town of Thal, Styria, Austria, to Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born Jadrny) and Gustav
Schwarzenegger, the local police chief. From a young age, he took a
keen interest in physical fitness and bodybuilding, going on to compete
in several minor contests in Europe. However, it was when he emigrated
to the United States in 1968 at the tender age of 21 that his star
began to rise.
Up until the early 1970s, bodybuilding had been viewed as a rather
oddball sport, or even a mis-understood "freak show" by the general
public, however two entrepreneurial Canadian brothers
Ben Weider and
Joe Weider set about broadening the appeal of
"pumping iron" and getting the sport respect, and what better poster
boy could they have to lead the charge, then the incredible "Austrian
Oak", Arnold Schwarzenegger. Over roughly the next decade, beginning in
1970, Schwarzenegger dominated the sport of competitive bodybuilding
winning five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles and, with
it, he made himself a major sports icon, he generated a new
international audience for bodybuilding, gym memberships worldwide
swelled by the tens of thousands and the Weider sports business empire
flourished beyond belief and reached out to all corners of the globe.
However, Schwarzenegger's horizons were bigger than just the landscape
of bodybuilding and he debuted on screen as "Arnold Strong" in the low
budget
Hercules in New York (1970),
then director Bob Rafelson cast Arnold in
Mister Universum (1976) alongside
Jeff Bridges and
Sally Field, for which Arnold won a Golden
Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture". The
mesmerizing Pumping Iron (1977)
covering the 1975 Mr Olympia contest in South Africa has since gone on
to become one of the key sports documentaries of the 20th century, plus
Arnold landed other acting roles in the comedy
Kaktus Jack (1979) opposite
Kirk Douglas, and he portrayed
Mickey Hargitay in the well- received TV
movie
Die Jayne Mansfield Story (1980).
What Arnold really needed was a super hero / warrior style role in a
lavish production that utilized his chiseled physique, and gave him
room to show off his growing acting talents and quirky humor.
Conan der Barbar (1982)
was just that role. Inspired by the
Robert E. Howard short stories of the
"Hyborean Age" and directed by gung ho director
John Milius, and with a largely unknown
cast, save Max von Sydow and
James Earl Jones, "Conan" was a smash
hit worldwide and an inferior, although still enjoyable sequel titled
Conan der Zerstörer (1984)
quickly followed. If "Conan" was the kick start to Arnold's movie
career, then his next role was to put the pedal to the floor and
accelerate his star status into overdrive. Director
James Cameron had until that time
only previously directed one earlier feature film titled
Fliegende Killer - Piranha II (1982), which stank of rotten fish from start to finish. However, Cameron had penned a fast paced, science fiction themed film script that called for
an actor to play an unstoppable, ruthless predator -
Terminator (1984). Made on a
relatively modest budget, the high voltage action / science fiction
thriller Terminator (1984) was
incredibly successful worldwide, and began one of the most profitable
film franchises in history. The dead pan phrase "I'll be back" quickly
became part of popular culture across the globe. Schwarzenegger was in
vogue with action movie fans, and the next few years were to see Arnold
reap box office gold in roles portraying tough, no-nonsense individuals
who used their fists, guns and witty one-liners to get the job done.
The testosterone laden Phantom Kommando (1985),
Der City Hai (1986),
Predator (1987),
Running Man (1987) and
Red Heat (1988) were all box office hits
and Arnold could seemingly could no wrong when it came to picking
winning scripts. The tongue-in-cheek comedy
Twins - Zwillinge (1988) with co-star
Danny DeVito was a smash and won Arnold new
fans who saw a more comedic side to the muscle- bound actor once
described by Australian author / TV host
Clive James as "a condom stuffed with
walnuts". The spectacular
Total Recall - die totale erinnerung (1990) and "feel good"
Kindergarten Cop (1990) were
both solid box office performers for Arnold, plus he was about to
return to familiar territory with director
James Cameron in
Terminator 2: Tag der Abrechnung (1991).
The second time around for the futuristic robot, the production budget
had grown from the initial film's $6.5 million to an alleged $100
million for the sequel, and it clearly showed as the stunning sequel
bristled with amazing special effects, bone-crunching chases & stunt
sequences, plus state of the art computer-generated imagery.
Terminator 2: Tag der Abrechnung (1991)
was arguably the zenith of Arnold's film career to date and he was
voted "International Star of the Decade" by the National Association of
Theatre Owners.
Remarkably, his next film
Last Action Hero (1993) brought
Arnold back to Earth with a hard thud as the self-satirizing, but
confusing plot line of a young boy entering into a mythical Hollywood
action film confused movie fans even more and they stayed away in
droves making the film an initial financial disaster. Arnold turned
back to good friend, director
James Cameron and the chemistry
was definitely still there as the "James Bond" style spy thriller
True Lies - Wahre Lügen (1994) co-starring
Jamie Lee Curtis and
Tom Arnold was the surprise hit of
1994! Following the broad audience appeal of
True Lies - Wahre Lügen (1994), Schwarzenegger
decided to lean towards more family-themed entertainment with
Junior (1994) and
Versprochen ist versprochen (1996), but
he still found time to satisfy his hard-core fan base with
Eraser (1996), as the chilling "Mr.
Freeze" in Batman & Robin (1997)
and battling dark forces in the supernatural action of
End of Days - Nacht ohne morgen (1999). The science
fiction / conspiracy tale
The 6th Day (2000) played to only
mediocre fan interest, and
Collateral Damage - Zeit der Vergeltung (2002) had
its theatrical release held over for nearly a year after the tragic
events of Sept 11th 2001, but it still only received a lukewarm
reception.
It was time again to resurrect Arnold's most successful franchise and,
in 2003, Schwarzenegger pulled on the biker leathers for the third time
for
Terminator 3: Rebellion der Maschinen (2003).
Unfortunately, directorial duties passed from
James Cameron to
Jonathan Mostow and the deletion of the
character of "Sarah Connor" aka
Linda Hamilton and a change in
the actor playing "John Connor" - Nick Stahl
took over from Edward Furlong - making
the third entry in the "Terminator" series the weakest to date.
Schwarzenegger married TV journalist
Maria Shriver in April, 1986 and the
couple have four children.
In October of 2003 Schwarzenegger, running as a Republican, was elected
Governor of California in a special recall election of then governor
Gray Davis. The "Governator," as Schwarzenegger came to be called, held
the office until 2011. Upon leaving the Governor's mansion it was
revealed that he had fathered a child with the family's live-in maid
and Shriver filed for divorce.
Schwarzenegger contributed cameo roles to
Welcome to the Jungle (2003),
In 80 Tagen um die Welt (2004)
and The Kid & I (2005). Recently, he
starred in
The Expendables 2 (2012),
The Last Stand (2013),
Escape Plan (2013), The Expendables 3 (2014), and Terminator - Genisys (2015).
