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Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in Graz, Austria on July 30,1947, 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), 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 - 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. He also made a mark with injecting his films with a droll sense of humour which set him apart from the oh so serious Sylvester Stallone action heroes.

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 is slated to star in 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and 2004's True Lies 2.

Age and a triple-heart-bypass operation have dampened Schwarzenegger's action film 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).