Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Schwarzenegger has been involved in three main activities in his life: bodybuilding, movies, and politics. His achievements are impressive, considering that he was born in a small village in Austria in 1947, and hardly spoke any English when he landed in the U.S. Growing up watching the movies of his muscle bound heroes, Johnny Weissmuller, Reg Park, and Steve Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger competed in his first bodybuilding competition when he was eighteen years old. He won first place in the Junior Division of Mr. Europe. In 1967, Schwarzenegger became the youngest bodybuilder to ever win the Mr. Universe title. He immigrated to the U.S. the following year with just a little money, and continued to train in a Santa Monica gym endorsed by Joe Weider. Schwarzenegger is regarded as the supreme bodybuilder of all time, having won four Mr. Universe and seven Mr. Olympia titles. Arnold Schwarzenegger then broke into the world of movies. Producers thought his physical presence compensated for his hard to understand heavy accent, and he was soon featured in a run of popular action films. His weak acting ability improved in time, and Schwarzenegger grew to be a true Hollywood star.
Casting directors found Arnold Schwarzenneger a niche in movies like Conan the Barbarian, directed by John Milius, and co-starring James Earl Jones and Max Von Sydow. The roles gradually improved and he was picked by actor turned director Paul Michael Glaser, to star in The Running Man. This was an adaptation of a Stephen King novel and also featured ex-football star Jim Brown. In addition to the action roles he handles so well, Arnold Schwarzenneger has displayed a surprising comedic talent, notably in a trio of films directed by Ivan Reitman. These are Junior with Danny DeVito and Emma Thompson, Kindergarten Cop with Penelope Ann Miller and Pamela Reed, and Twins with Kelly Preston and again, with Danny DeVito.
The most iconic role Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for is as the Terminator in the Terminator trilogy. The Terminator, which was released in 1984, launched Schwarzenegger into superstardom, and was followed by Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Both of these popular box office hits were directed by James Cameron and co-starred Linda Hamilton. The final installment was Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, directed by Jonathan Mostow and featuring Nick Stahl and Claire Danes. Arnold Schwarzenneger has pursued a political career as a Republican, an irony as he is married to TV journalist Maria Shriver, the late President John F Kennedy’s niece. Having campaigned for Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush and George W Bush, Schwarzenegger achieved his own political ambition in 2003 when he became governor of California. YUDDY |
