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Revision as of 06:52, 5 September 2002 by 217.168.172.202 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in Graz, Austria in 1947, was a bodybuilder (Junior Mr. Europe, Mr. World, Mr. Universe five times and Mr. Olympia seven times) before he became an actor.
His first film appearance was in Hercules in New York (1970). He 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 - for instance, he retains a strong German accent to his English even in roles where he plays characters who would not normally have such an accent. However, few of the fans of his work seem to care.
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 tongue-in-cheek sendup of spy films. It was followed by Eraser (1996) and End of Days (1999).
Age and a triple-heart-bypass operation have dampened Schwarzenegger's action film career.
Unusually for a Hollywood actor, he has close links with the Republican party, and 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 foriegn-born Americans and thus Schwarzenegger to become President).
See also: Conan the Barbarian