Overview (4)
Date of Birth | 30 July 1947 , Thal, Styria, Austria |
Birth Name | Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger |
Nicknames |
Arnie Austrian Oak Conan the Republican Styrian Oak The Governator The Running Man Conan the Governor The Machine |
Height | 6' 2" (1.88 m) |
Mini Bio (3)
Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian/American actor, politician and businessman who started his career out as a weight-lifter. Born July 30, 1947 in Thal, Styria, Austria, Schwarzenegger with a keen interest in physical fitness and seemingly indomitable drive, parlayed his notoriety as a five-time Mr. Universe and seven-time Mr. Olympia champion to turn himself into a Hollywood movie star and public personality. After a series of false starts as the dumb-beefcake in several poor films Schwarzenegger got his big break in the title role of director John Milius's Conan the Barbarian (1982). Several sequels followed but the actor wisely played against the heroic type to take the eponymous villain role in The Terminator (1984) with director 'James Cameron' and making the line, "I'll be back" a catch-phrase of the mid-80s. Schwarzenegger solidified his place as an action hero in films like Predator (1987), Total Recall (1990), _Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1992)_ and True Lies (1994), but proved to have wider range than anyone expected by pulling off comedic roles too, which he did in Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and others. In April, 1986 he married TV correspondent, Maria Shriver (a relation to the Kennedy political dynasty) and the couple had 4 children. Eventually a string of less-than-successfully received pictures, such as Jingle All the Way (1996), Eraser (1996), End of Days (1999), The 6th Day (2000), and Collateral Damage (2002) proved that the "Austrian Oak," as he had been nicknamed during his weight-lifting years, could be felled.
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.
He is currently in The Expendables 2 (2012) and expected to next be seen in The Last Stand (2013), Escape Plan (2013) and The Unknown Soldier.
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 another celebrity to be elected to the position.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: David Montgomery < djmont@aol.com>
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 uber-star Arnold Schwarzenegger is a true "rags to riches" story of the penniless immigrant making it in the land of opportunity, the United States of America. Arnold was born on July 30th, 1947 in the town of Thal, Austria and, 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 1970's, 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 (1969), then director Bob Rafelson cast Arnold in Stay Hungry (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 The Villain (1979) opposite Kirk Douglas, and he portrayed Mickey Hargitay in the well- received TV movie The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980). But, 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 the Barbarian (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 the Destroyer (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 Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981),
- which stank of rotten fish from start to finish - however Cameron had
The spectacular Total Recall (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: Judgment Day (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: Judgment Day (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 (1994) co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Arnold was the surprise hit of 1994!
Following the broad audience appeal of True Lies (1994), Schwarzenegger decided to lean towards more family-themed entertainment with Junior (1994) and Jingle All the Way (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 (1999). The science fiction / conspiracy tale The 6th Day (2000) played to only mediocre fan interest, and Collateral Damage (2002) had it's 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: Rise of the Machines (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 contributed cameo roles to The Rundown (2003), Around the World in 80 Days (2004) and The Kid & I (2005) and took political office in 2003 as the Governor of California, effectively suspending his film career for the foreseeable future.
Schwarzenegger married TV journalist Maria Shriver in April, 1986 and the couple have four children.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: davesusanv@gmail.com
Spouse (1)
Maria Shriver | (26 April 1986 - present) (filed for divorce) (4 children) |
Trade Mark (9)
Trivia (135)
Personal Quotes (439)
- like 5'6" or something like that - which is ridiculous. I can assure
Salary (22)
Hercules in New York (1969) | $12,000 |
Conan the Barbarian (1982) | $250,000 |
Conan the Destroyer (1984) | $1,000,000 |
The Terminator (1984) | $750,000 |
Commando (1985) | $1,500,000 |
Predator (1987) | $3,000,000 |
The Running Man (1987) | $5,000,000 |
Red Heat (1988) | $8,000,000 |
Total Recall (1990) | $10,000,000 |
Kindergarten Cop (1990) | $12,000,000 |
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) | $14,000,000 |
Last Action Hero (1993) | $15,000,000 |
True Lies (1994) | $15,000,000 |
Junior (1994) | $15,000,000 |
Eraser (1996) | $20,000,000 |
Jingle All the Way (1996) | $20,000,000 |
Batman & Robin (1997) | $25,000,000 |
End of Days (1999) | $22,000,000 |
The 6th Day (2000) | $25,000,000 |
Collateral Damage (2002) | $25,000,000 |
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) | $30,000,000 |
The Last Stand (2013) | $10,000,000+25% of first dollar |