Arnie is The Terminator, The Predator killer, The Commando, Conan the Barbarian and The Last Action Hero. He was one of the biggest action movie stars of the 80s and 90s and could really do no wrong, he has since gone on to become the “Governator”, the governor of California, and has now gone back in to a bit of acting again – there’s no stopping this man! Now here are 15 things you probably didn’t know about him…
1. He Knew From A Young Age He Wanted To Be A Bodybuilder
Arnie first picked up a barbell at the age of 13 and chose bodybuilding as a career by the age of 14. He was so dedicated that he would break into his local gym at the weekend (when it was closed) in order to train. This is one man who knew from a very early age exactly what path he wanted to follow and he made it happen, a surprisingly inspirational story!
2. He Went AWOL From The Army To Pursue His Dream
During a year of national service in the Austrian army, Arnie went AWOL during basic training so he could attend a bodybuilding competition. This disobedience meant that he had to spend a week in an army jail. Again, Arnie was showing those around him that he knew exactly what he wanted and that he was prepared to do what he needed to follow his dreams!
3. He Learned English In The East End Of London
Arnie learned English in London’s East End whilst staying with his coach, Charles Bennett, in Forest Gate. It is surprising then, that he doesn’t say something like “I’ll be back after I’ve been up and down the old apples and pears a few times, then I’m off for a Ruby Murray, anyone fancy a pint of warm beer?” That would certainly have been a very different take on The Terminator!
4. He May Have Been An Illegal Immigrant
Arnie moved to the US when he was 21 years old, but there have been claims that he may have violated his visa and so been an illegal immigrant. This isn’t something we can condone if it is true, but it really does go to show that he was serious about following his dreams and persuing them as much as he could.
5. He Could Have Been The Hulk
He was considered for the title role in the 1970s TV show ‘The Incredible Hulk’, but lost out to Lou Ferrigno because he wasn’t tall enough. In my opinion they made the right choice, however, as Lou Ferrigno has a masterful ability to act with his eyes, imploring a sense of injustice and making you feel almost sorry for the “monster” which I don’t think Arnie could have done.
6. He Was Credited With A Different Name On His First Film
Arnie’s first film role was as Hercules in the 1970 film ‘Hercules in New York’, on which his was credited as ‘Arnold Strong’. Schwarzenegger may be a mouthful but it certainly has a better ring to it than “Arnold Strong” which just sounds really cheesy, can you really imagine the gruff-voiced announcer on the Trailer… “Arnold Strong is… The Terminator”! It just doesn’t sound right!
7. His Legendary Line Could Have Been “I’ll Come Back”
Yes, Arnie’s legendary “I’ll be back” line in ‘The Terminator’ was originally written as “I’ll come back.” This is one of those incredibly minor tweaks that we are glad happened as it just sounds so much better as “I’ll be back” and it makes you wonder if it would have been so massively copied and quoted if it was “I’ll come back” – personally I suspect not!
8. He Could Have Starred In Die Hard
Unbelievably, Schwarzenegger turned down the role of John McClane in Die Hard. Ironically, the film’s eventual star Bruce Willis has a line in the film where he says that the terrorists “have enough explosives to orbit Arnold Schwarzenegger.” This is another of those times, we are really glad that history turned out as it did – can you really imagine anyone but Bruce Willis as John McClane?
9. He Had The Best Body In The History Of The World
Schwarzenegger was called ‘the most perfectly developed human in the history of the world’ by the Guinness Book of World Records. That is some feat and certainly testament to the hard work, dedication and commitment that Arnie put in to his passion!
10. He Also Holds Another World Record
Arnie has punched the most animals in films, having hit two dogs, two camels, and a reindeer. I’m not entirely certain that this is necessarily a world record he needs to be too proud of having, but that scene in Jingle All The Way with the reindeer is hilarious!
11. His Dollar To Word Ratio In Terminator 2 Was Pretty Decent
He got paid $21,429 for each word he said in Terminator 2. Nice. Maybe he should have requested a few extra lines and earned even more, but I suspect it didn’t work quite like that!
12. He Liked To Reside In Style When Filming
It has been reported that, as well as the $30 million he was paid for ‘Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines’, Arnie’s contract stipulated that $1.5 million of the budget should be set aside for private jets, a gym, hotel suites, limousines, and personal bodyguards, all available for him to use at any time. Nice!
13. He Saved A Man’s Life For Real
Arnie saved a man from drowning in 2004 whilst on holiday in Hawaii. The man was suffering from multiple cramps when Arnie spotted him struggling in the water, he swam out to the man who told him he couldn’t swim back to shore due to the cramp and Arnie helped him get back safely – hero!
14. He Still Works Out Alot
Schwarzenegger worked out for 6 months, 3 hours a day, before filming on ‘Terminator Genisys’ started. However the body of young Arnie was provided by body-building actor Brett Azar, as he was seen to have the closest match to Arnie’s physique from the first film.
15. He Accomplished All Of His Childhood Goals
Childhood friends have said that Arnie told them that his goals in life were to move to America, become an actor, and marry a Kennedy. Of course, he accomplished all three. It is nice to see that he genuinely had to work hard to achieve it, however, and he didn’t have it all handed to him on a plate, so he certainly deserves some respect for that!
Have any of these facts surprised you? Have you learned things about Arnie that you didn’t know before? Let us know in the comments as always!