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Arnold Schwarzenegger (born Graz, Austria, July 30, 1947) is an American actor and political figure.

Bodybuilding career

Schwarzenegger first gained fame as a prominant bodybuilder. His well-developed physique revolutionized the sport, and won him the titles of Junior Mr. Europe, Mr. World, Mr. Universe (five times) and Mr. Olympia (seven times). He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy in the sport is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition.

Acting career

Arnold's uniquely muscular apperance earned him several movie roles. His first film appearance was in Hercules in New York (1970), in which he played the title character, who goes to New York and befriends a mild-mannered man. His accent in the film was so thick that his voice was dubbed instead. Schwarzenegger came to the attention of more people in the documentary Pumping Iron (1977). His breakthrough film was Conan the Barbarian (1982), cemented by Conan the Destroyer (1984). He is perhaps most known for his role in The Terminator (1984) where his deadpan acting style actually helped the film. 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 German 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 with injecting his films with a droll sense of humor, setting him apart from the more serious action heroes played by Sylvester Stallone.

Following his arrival as a Hollywood superstar, he made a number of commercially successful films: Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), Predator (1987) and Red Heat (1988). Twins (1988) a comedy with Danny DeVito was a change of pace. Total Recall (1990) got Schwarzenegger $10m and 15% of the gross, and hid a widely praised, thought-provoking science-fiction script behind his usual violent action. Kindergarten Cop (1990) was another comedy. Terminator 2 (1991) was his high-water mark. After the box-office failure of The Last Action Hero, (1993) Schwartzenegger's career never again achieved quite the same prominence. True Lies (1994), was a sendup of spy films. It was followed by Eraser (1996) End of Days (1999), The 6th Day (2000) and Collateral Damage (2002). He stars in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and is slated to star in 2004's True Lies 2.

In April 1997 he underwent an operation to correct a congenital heart valve defect.

Political Career

Unusual for a Hollywood actor, he is a registered voter of the Republican party, although he describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate. He scored his first political success on November 5, 2002 when Californians approved his personally crafted and sponsored Proposition 49, the After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002. In addition, it is generally believed that Schwarzenegger has considered, and may still be considering, running for political office (a belief jokingly referenced in a Sylvester Stallone film, Demolition Man, where a future America passed a constitutional amendment to allow foreign-born Americans and thus Schwarzenegger to become President).

Schwarzenegger had been widely rumored to be considering a run at becoming Governor of California. In the July 2003 issue of Esquire magazine, he said, "Yes, I would love to be governor of California ... If the state needs me, and if there's no one I think is better, then I will run." Despite being re-elected in 2002, current (as of July 2003) Democratic governor Gray Davis is widely unpopular and is facing the prospect of a recall election in November 2003.

On August 6, 2003, Schwarzenegger announced on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno that he intended to run in the upcoming October 7 recall election.