Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947 in Thal, Styria, Austria) is an Austrian-American actor, Republican politician, bodybuilder, and businessman, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. He was elected on October 7, 2003 in a special recall election which removed sitting Governor Gray Davis from office. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003 to serve the remainder of Davis' term, which lasts until January 2007.

Acting career

Growing bored with professional bodybuilding, which he began to view as a "go nowhere" career, Schwarzenegger began to pursue a career as an actor. His uniquely muscular appearance earned him several movie roles. His first film appearance was as Hercules in Hercules in New York (1970), credited under the name Arnold Strong, although his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed. He appeared in The Long Goodbye, and more notably Stay Hungry, for which he was awarded a Golden Globe. Schwarzenegger came to the attention of more people in the documentary Pumping Iron (1977), elements of which were dramatized. In 1991, Schwarzenegger purchased the rights to this film, outtakes, and associated still photography that could be embarrassing politically. Initially he had trouble breaking into films because agents disliked his surname, muscles and accent.http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/arnoldpump1.html Though Schwarzenegger refuses to discuss his plastic surgery ("You are confusing me with Cher," he told People Magazine in 2002), citing before and after photos, critics allege he has undergone procedures on his eyes and chin, and has received at least one facelift.http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/entertainers/actors/arnold-schwarzenegger/

Related Topics:
Actor - Hercules in New York - 1970 - Dub - The Long Goodbye - Golden Globe - Pumping Iron - 1977 - Cher - People Magazine

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Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was Conan the Barbarian (1982), and this was cemented by a sequel, Conan the Destroyer (1984). As an actor, he is most well-known as the title character of James Cameron's android thriller The Terminator (1984). Schwarzenegger's acting ability (described by one critic as having an emotional range that "stretches from A almost to B") has long been the butt of many jokes; he retains a strong Austrian accent in his speech even in roles which do not call for such an accent. However, few of the fans of his work seem to care. He also made a mark for injecting his films with a droll, often self-deprecating sense of humor, setting him apart from more serious action heroes such as Sylvester Stallone, his most prominent contemporary. (As an aside, his alternative-universe comedy/thriller Last Action Hero featured a poster of the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day which, in that alternate universe had Sylvester Stallone as its star; a similar in-joke in Twins suggested that the two actors might one day co-star, something which never came to pass).

Related Topics:
Conan the Barbarian - 1982 - Conan the Destroyer - 1984 - James Cameron's - The Terminator - Sylvester Stallone - Last Action Hero - Twins

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Following his arrival as a Hollywood superstar, he made a number of commercially successful films: Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), and Red Heat (1988). In Predator (1987), another commercially successful film, Schwarzenegger led a cast which included future Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (Ventura also appears in Running Man) and future Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidate Sonny Landham. Twins, (1988) a comedy with Danny DeVito, was a change of pace. Total Recall (1990), at that time the most expensive film ever, netted Schwarzenegger $10 million and 15% of the gross, and was a widely praised, thought-provoking science-fiction script behind his usual violent action. Kindergarten Cop (1990) was another comedy.

Related Topics:
Commando - 1985 - Raw Deal - 1986 - The Running Man - 1987 - Red Heat - 1988 - Predator - Minnesota - Governor - Jesse Ventura - Kentucky - Gubernatorial - Sonny Landham - Twins - Danny DeVito - Total Recall - 1990 - Kindergarten Cop

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Schwarzenegger's critical and commercial high-water mark was ' (1991). His next film project, the self-aware action comedy Last Action Hero, (1993), had the misfortune to be released opposite Jurassic Park, and suffered accordingly. Schwarzenegger's career never again achieved quite the same prominence, his aura of box-office invincibility suffering. True Lies (1994) was a popular sendup of spy films, and saw Schwarzenegger reunited with director James Cameron, whose own career had taken off with The Terminator. It was followed by the popular, albeit by-the-numbers Eraser (1996), and Batman & Robin (1997), his final film before taking time to recuperate from a back injury. Although Batman & Robin was a famous disaster, Schwarzenegger emerged largely unscathed. Several film projects were announced with Schwarzenegger attached to star including the remake of The Planet of the Apes, a new film of I am Legend and a World War II film scripted by Quentin Tarantino that would have seen Schwarzenegger finally play an Austrian. Instead he returned with End of Days (1999) - an unsuccessful and atypically dark attempt to broaden his acting range - The 6th Day (2000) and Collateral Damage (2002), none of which came close to recapturing his former prominence. He starred in the popularly received ' (2003) and was slated to star in a possible True Lies 2 and Conan the King, but his duties as California governor have likely put his movie career on hold until at least 2007, though producers repeatedly claim he will make a small appearance in a fourth Terminator film. His last film appearance to date was a cameo in the 2004 remake of Around the World in 80 Days, notable for featuring him onscreen with action star Jackie Chan for the first time.

Related Topics:
1991 - Last Action Hero - 1993 - Jurassic Park - True Lies - 1994 - James Cameron - The Terminator - Eraser - 1996 - Batman & Robin - 1997 - The Planet of the Apes - I am Legend - Quentin Tarantino - End of Days - 1999 - The 6th Day - 2000 - Collateral Damage - 2002 - 2003 - 2007 - Cameo - Around the World in 80 Days - Jackie Chan

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Filmography

• Hercules in New York (1970)
• The Long Goodbye (1973)
• Stay Hungry (1976)
• Pumping Iron (1977) (documentary)
• The Villain (1979)
• Scavenger Hunt (1979)
• The Comeback (1980) (documentary)
• Body by Garret (1982) (short subject)
• Conan the Barbarian (1982)
• Conan the Destroyer (1984)
• The Terminator (1984)
• Red Sonja (1985)
• Commando (1985)
• Raw Deal (1986)
• Predator (1987)
• The Running Man (1987)
• Red Heat (1988)
• Twins (1988)
• Total Recall (1990)
• Kindergarten Cop (1990)
• (1991)
• Freed (1992) (documentary)
• Dave (1993) (cameo)
• Last Action Hero (1993)
• The Last Party (1993) (documentary)
• A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
• Beretta's Island (1994)
• True Lies (1994)
• Junior (1994)
• (1996) (short subject)
• Eraser (1996)
• Jingle All the Way (1996)
• Stand Tall (1997) (documentary)
• Batman & Robin (1997)
• Junket Whore (1998) (documentary)
• End of Days (1999)
• The 6th Day (2000)
• Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) (voice)
• Last Party 2000 (2001) (documentary)
• Collateral Damage (2002)
• (2003)
• The Rundown (2003) (cameo)
• Around the World in 80 Days (2004) (cameo)
• How Arnold Won the West (2004) (documentary)
• WMD: Weapon of Mass Destruction (2004) (documentary)
• The Kid & I (2005) (currently in post-production)