Nickname:Arnie,Austrian Oak,Conan the Republican,Styrian Oak,The Governator
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Mini biography
Growing up in a
small, isolated village in Austria,
he turned to bodybuilding as his ticket to a better life. Prior to that he
served a mandatory one year in the Austrian military (beginning in 1965). After
conquering the world as arguably the greatest bodybuilder who ever lived, he
went to America
to make his name in motion pictures. Hampered by his impossible name and thick
accent, success eluded him for many years. It wasn't until he found the
tailor-made role of Conan that he truly came into his own as a performer. A
succession of over-the-top action films made him an international box office
star. By alternating violent action films with lighter, comedic fare, he has
solidified his position as one of the most popular - if not the most popular -
movie stars in the world. After his long, and successful movie career, he ran
in the California
recall. He is now the Governor of California, yet again another celebrity to be
elected to the position.
Trade mark
Frequent movie line
"I'll be back"
Often has his
character say comedic one liners that puncuate the action.
Many of his films
have his characters doing feats of strength to match his muscular look, eg Commando (1985) where he is first seen
in the film carrying a whole tree trunk on his shoulder.
Ranked #20 in
Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
[October 1997]
Fourth child, a
boy, born. [27 September 1997]
Underwent heart
surgery to correct a congenital heart valve condition. [April 1997]
Called by the
Guinness Book of World Records, "the most perfectly developed man in the
history of the world."
Noted fan of cigar
smoking.
His voice in
"Hercules" was dubbed.
Was part-owner of
Planet Hollywood and Schatzi restaurants.
Advocate for the
Republican party.
He reprised his
Terminator character for the theme park attraction "T2-3D", a short
film which uses an enhanced 3-D process that makes the film really appear to
jump out at you.
Graduated from University of Wisconsin-Superior with a major in
international marketing of fitness and business administration. [1979]
Sold his Planet
Hollywood stock off and is no longer a part owner of the chain. (2000)
The soccer stadium
in Graz, Austria (his home town) is named
after him.
Was considered for
the title role in the 1970s TV series "The
Incredible Hulk" (1978), but was reportedly deemed not tall enough.
His former bodybuilding competitor, Lou Ferrigno, ultimately won
the part.
After leaving Austria for the first time, he came to England to
work, earning under £30 a week.
Received an
Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin
Superior, in 1996 in recognition of his
charitable works.
At his bodybuilding
peak his chest was 57", waist 34", biceps 22", thighs 28½",
calves 20", and his competition weight was 235 lbs (260 lbs off-season).
He and Warner Bros.
agreed to postpone the release of Collateral
Damage (2002) indefinitely in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks
on America.
The plot centers around a firefighter who lost his family in a terrorist bomb
attack. [September 2001]
7 September 2001 -
Sues International Game Technology for the unauthorized use of his voice and
likeness in slot machine games. His lawyer told the press he was seeking $20
million in damages, which is the amount he believes he would have received had
he approved the use.
Childhood friends
stated that he often said his goals in life were to move to America, become
an actor, and marry a Kennedy. He accomplished all three.
Son of a police
officer.
Underwent a
genioplasty -- a procedure in which his jaw has been moved back so that it no
longer juts out.
Was the first
private citizen in the U.S.
to own a Humvee (High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle).
Lobbying in May
2002 to promote anti-juvenile delinquency initiative on California ballot that would commit the
state to allocate $400 million for extracurricular activities and tutoring for
students, kindergarten through ninth grade.
Received an
honorary doctorate from ChapmanUniversity in Orange,
California. [June 2002]
Underwent surgery
for a torn rotator cuff as a result of an injury on the set of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Was in a
sling for 3-4 weeks, but it was not expected to delay the completion of the
movie. [29 January 2003]
Ranked #9 in Star
TV's Top 10 Box Office Stars of the 1990s (2003)
The character
Rainier Wolfecastle in "The
Simpsons" (1989) is based on him.
Won Mr. Olympia
title seven times (1970-1975, 1980).
James Cameron orginally wanted him for the
role of Kyle Reese in The
Terminator(1984), but when Arnold walked into the restaurant to
meet Cameron about the role, Cameron took one look at him and said "You're
a machine!" and that's why he got the role of The Terminator.
Suffered a back
injury (among other various assorted injuries) while filming Conan the Barbarian (1982) when the
dogs who were chasing him jumped him from behind and he fell down the rock he
was climbing to escape them.
In Demolition Man (1993), Sandra Bullock's character Lenina Huxley is
telling Sylvester
Stallone's character John Spartan about the Arnold Schwarzenegger Presidential
Library, explaining that, based on the sheer popularity of Schwarzenegger's
movies, a Constitutional amendment was passed in order for Schwarzenegger to
run for President, which, according to Huxley, he did. In 2003, ten years after
this film's release, Schwarzenegger ran for the office of Governor of
California, and won the election on 7 October 2003. While Schwarzenegger is not
eligible to run for the presidency by present laws (as a naturalized citizen,
not a born citizen as required by the Constitution), most past presidents have
been governors of their respective home states. Members of Congress are
currently considering an amendment to the Constitution to allow foreign-born US citizens to
be allowed to run for the Presidency, specifically with Schwarzenegger in mind.
Had one elder
brother Meinherd (1946-1971).
His mother was
Aurelia Jadrny (1922-1998) and his father was Gustav Schwarzenegger
(1907-1972).
Children: Katherine
Eunice (b. 1990), Christina Maria Aurelia (b. 1991), Patrick Arnold (b. 1993),
Christopher Sargent Shriver (b. 1997)
Was elected
Governor of California as a Republican on 7 October 2003.
Turned down the
role of John McClane in Die Hard (1988). The role
went to Bruce Willis instead.
TV Guide selected
Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement on "The
Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) to run for Governor of
California as the greatest TV moment of 2003.
Said that filming
the climatic fight at the end of Predator (1987) was made
difficult by the fact that the late Kevin Peter
Hall, who played the Predator, couldn't see through his mask.
Has the record for
winning the most major bodybuilding events in history, 13 (1 Mr. Junior Western Europe, 7 Mr. Olympias, and 5 Mr. Universes).
After he had
started lifting weights as a teenager, he noticed that his body was becoming
disproportionate. His arms, shoulders and chest were developing nicely, but his
calves and lower legs weren't coming along as he wanted. To motivate himself to
work harder on his calves, he cut off all of his pants (trousers) at the knee.
Walking around like that, people would look at (and maybe even laugh at) the
big man with 'chicken' legs. It worked.
His father, Gustav
Schwarzenegger, nicknamed him "Cinderella" as a child and his older
brother, Meinherd, constantly picked on him growing up. Both men were killed
while driving under the influence.
Is one of only two
actors to appear in all three of the 'Terminator' films (_The Terminator
(1984)_ , Terminator 2:
Judgment Day (1991) and Terminator 3:
Rise of the Machines (2003)). The other is Earl Boen who portrayed the
character of Dr. Peter Silberman in all three films.
Only the second
governor in California's
history to be born in a foreign country. John Downey, the 7th Governor of
California, was born in Ireland
and served from 1860- 1862.
Has his look-alike
puppet in the French show _"Guignols de l'info, Les" (1988)_ .
Went AWOL from the
Austrian army to enter his first bodybuilding contest.
Stumped for
President George W.
Bush the weekend before his re-election in Ohio,
as Schwarzenegger has always had a strong relationship with Ohio.
He was voted the
53rd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Was considered for
the role of the gentle giant Fezzik in the 1970s when William Goldman's book "The Princess
Bride" was being discussed for a film adaptation.
Turned down a
request to reprise his Conan character in Kull the
Conqueror (1997) (originally titled "Conan the Conqueror"). Also, he
was supposed to play Conan in Red Sonja (1985), though
ultimately, a new character was created who was essentially Conan in everything
but name.
Is the only person
to receive Razzie nominations for Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor and Worst
Screen Couple (with himself cloned) in the same year. All for the same movie, The 6th Day (2000).
In German, the word
"schwarzen" means "black", and "egger" means
"ploughman". So "Schwarzenegger" is "Black
Ploughman".
His life strangely
mirrors the life of Conan from Conan the
Barbarian (1982). Conan was born in a small village and grew up to be a
physically powerful man from years of slavery. After winning great fame as a
gladiator, he is given to wine and women, but later rejects this hedonistic
lifestyle and goes on to perform great heroic feats, and eventually he is
crowned king. Arnold
was born in a small Austrian town and took up weightlifting as he got older.
After achieving success as a bodybuilder, he indulged in drug abuse and
womanizing, but he later rejected this and went on to become a vocal supporter
of social causes, and was eventually elected governor of California.
Performed many of
his own stunts in his films, owing largely to the fact that it was hard to find
stunt doubles who matched his size. Billy D.
Lucas, Joel Kramer and Peter Kent eventually became his
personal stunt doubles and close friends.
His famous line
"I'll be back", which originated from The
Terminator (1984), was originally written as "I'll come
back".
Initially refused
to star in Terminator 3:
Rise of the Machines (2003) because James Cameron, who created the
character and directed the first two films, would not be directing the third
installment. Arnold tried to persuade Cameron to
do the third film but Cameron declined and, feeling that the Terminator
character was as much Arnold's as it was his
own, Cameron advised Arnold
to just do the third film and ask for a lot of money.
While filming the
behind the scenes documentary for the special edition DVD of Conan the Barbarian (1982), the
microphone hit him in the head at the end of the interview, to which he
immediately joked "You see, I can't even do an interview about Conan
without getting hurt".
Addressed the
Republican National Convention in 2004.
The etymology for Arnold is "Eagle
Power"
Grew up in a house
that had no phone, no fridge and no toilet.
