Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Highest Rated: 100% The Terminator (1984)

Lowest Rated: 0% The Villain (1979)

Birthday: Jul 30, 1947

Birthplace: Thal, Styria, Austria

A combination of determination, personality, and sheer brawn helped to propel Arnold Schwarzenegger from the top of the bodybuilding world to Hollywood stardom and later, political power as the governor of the state of California. Born Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger in the Austrian village of Thal on July 30, 1947, he was the son of the town's chief of police, a strict disciplinarian who reportedly did not believe that Schwarzenegger was his biological child. A middling student but an enthusiastic sportsman, Schwarzenegger discovered bodybuilding in his teenage years, and began competing at a professional level at the age of 17. Inspired by the careers of such former bodybuilders turned actors as Steve Reeves, he won his Junior Mr. Europe title a year later while completing his required service in the Austrian military, and traveled to England to in 1966 to compete in his first Mr. Universe contest. After earning second place, he trained extensively with, among others, three-time Mr. Universe Reg Park, who helped to guide Schwarzenegger to his first Mr. Universe title in 1967. The following year, he relocated to the United States, where he trained at the fmed Gold's Gym in Venice, California with Muscle and Fitness publisher Joe Weider, who also created the Mr. Olympia competition. Schwarzenegger lost his first bid for that title in 1969, but returned the following year to earn his first Mr. Olympia, and would repeat that success from 1971 to 1974 before announcing his retirement from bodybuilding. He was convinced to compete for a fifth title by documentarians George Butler and Robert Fiore, who filmed his training regimen for their 1975 "Pumping Iron" The documentary, which pitted a slimmer Schwarzenegger against the bigger, brawnier Lou Ferrigno, underscored his natural ease and magnetism in front of the camera, and helped to pave the way for Schwarzenegger's film career after he captured the 1975 and 1980 titles. He had already appeared on film, first in the title role for "Hercules in New York" (1969), where his thick Austrian accent was replaced by the voice of another actor, and then as a deaf-mute in Robert Altman's "The Long Goodbye" (1973). But with the success of "Pumping Iron," more substantive roles began to open up for Schwarzenegger: he won a Golden Globe as a cheerful bodybuilder opposite Jeff Bridges and Sally Field in Bob Rafelson's "Stay Hungry" (1976), played broadly opposite Kirk Douglas in the cartoonish "The Villain" (1979), and appeared as one of his bodybuilding idols, Mickey Hargitay, in the ABC TV-movie "The Jayne Mansfield Story" (1979). But in 1982, he found his star-making role as Robert E. Howard's legendary warrior-king, Conan, in John Milius' 'Conan the Barbarian" (1982). After becoming an American citizen in 1983, and reprising Conan in a 1984 sequel, "Conan the Destroyer" (1984), Schwarzenegger accepted a largely silent role in a low-budget science fiction thriller called "The Terminator" (1984). A tense, action-packed crowd-pleaser, the film cemented Schwarzenegger's star status (and launched the directorial career of James Cameron), and led to a string of popular action films, including "Commando" (1985), "The Running Man" (1987) and "Predator" (1988), which helped to mint Schwarzenegger - who had been written off by Hollywood due to his build and accent in the early '70s - as one of the biggest box office draws in the United States. During this period, he also joined one of the most famous political and social dynasties in American history when he married journalist Maria Shriver in 1986. Perhaps as a nod to his deepening roots in mainstream America, Schwarzenegger began adding more family-friendly fare to his movie c.v: unlike many of his fellow action heroes like Sylvester Stallone, Schwarzenegger imbued his roles with a sense of humor, which helped to pave the way for Ivan Reitman's comedy "Twins" (1988), which imagined him as the separated-at-birth twin of Danny DeVito. A sizable hit, it led to more comic efforts, including "Kindergarten Cop" (1990) and "Junior" (1994), which netted him a Golden Globe nomination, though he continued to mine the action vein with films like "Total Recall" (1990). The following year, he reprised his implacable robotic character, the T-800, in Cameron's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," which was the highest grossing film of 1991. But after scoring a second box office hit with Cameron in "True Lies" (1994), Schwarzenegger's status at the top of the movie heap began to falter; action and comedy efforts like "Eraser" (1996) and Batman & Robin" (1997) were met with less than enthusiastic reviews and ticket sales. He returned to the Terminator franchise again in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (2003) before largely retiring from the film business. But in 2003, the second phase of his extraordinary career began when he announced his candidacy for governor of California during its historic election recall; Schwarzenegger had always harbored political intentions, and had been close to various presidents as the head of the Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, but with his win of 48.6% of the vote in 2004, he had followed in the footsteps of another idol, Ronald Reagan, and assumed leadership of one of the largest economies in the world. An avowed Republican, Schwarzenegger slowly moved towards a more moderate position during his tenure as governor, embracing actions against climate change and supporting an emissions trading scheme with other U.S. states. Decisions such as these did not win him support among Republicans, and accusations of drug use and sexual harassment prior to his gubernatorial run dogged him throughout his tenure in Sacramento. He eventually left office with basement-level approval ratings in 2011, and took further brickbats when his 25-year marriage to Shriver ended after the Los Angeles Times revealed that he had fathered a son with his family's housekeeper. He made a bid to return to acting, initially in action films like the all-star "Expendables" (2012) series, but later, in a string of smaller, more character-driven action and crime films like "Sabotage" (2014) and the horror film "Maggie" (2015), which saw Schwarzenegger give an impressive turn as a father protecting his daughter as she underwent a monstrous transformation. Most, if not all, were only modest box office successes, including his return to the "Terminator" franchise with "Terminator Genisys" in 2015, and his single season as the host of "The New Celebrity Apprentice" (NBC, 2017) - replacing Donald Trump - was met with disinterest. But Schwarzenegger remained active, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes in a variety of capacities, including the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, which sought to find common ground between political parties, and various climate change initiatives. In 2019, he again returned to the "Terminator" franchise, along with James Cameron and co-star Linda Hamilton, for "Terminator: Dark Fate."

Show Less Show More

Highest rated movies

100% 89% The Terminator
Watchlist
92% 91% Andre the Giant Watchlist
92% 84% Pumping Iron
Watchlist
91% 95% Terminator 2: Judgment Day Watchlist
82% 79% Total Recall
Watchlist
81% 87% Sly Watchlist 80% 87% Predator Watchlist 76% 100% Wonders of the Sea Watchlist
73% 73% Darfur Now
Watchlist
70% 76% True Lies
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
81% 87% Sly Self - 2023
No Score Yet No Score Yet Kung Fury 2 The President (Character) - 2021
60% 67% Stallone: Frank, That Is Unknown (Character) - 2020
19% 24% Iron Mask James Hook (Character),
Executive Producer
- 2019
70% 82% Terminator: Dark Fate T-800/Carl (Character) $62.2M 2019
67% 99% The Game Changers Self - 2018
92% 91% Andre the Giant Self - 2018
No Score Yet No Score Yet Born Strong Self - 2017
76% 100% Wonders of the Sea Narrator,
Producer
- 2017
50% 70% Conor McGregor: Notorious Self - 2017
46% 28% Killing Gunther Gunther (Character) - 2017
40% 25% Aftermath Roman (Character),
Producer
- 2017
26% 52% Terminator Genisys Guardian (Character) $89.8M 2015
60% 32% Maggie Wade (Character),
Producer
$457.3K 2015
32% 48% The Expendables 3 Trench (Character) $39.3M 2014
21% 36% Sabotage John "Breacher" Wharton (Character) $10.5M 2014
50% 55% Escape Plan Emil Rottmayer (Character) $25.1M 2013
61% 53% The Last Stand Ray Owens (Character) $12.0M 2013
68% 67% The Expendables 2 Trench (Character) $85.0M 2012
42% 64% The Expendables Trench Mausar (Character) $103.0M 2010
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Burning Season Narrator - 2008
73% 73% Darfur Now Self $107.8K 2007
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Merv Griffin Show - 40 of the Most Interesting People of Our Time Self - 2006
No Score Yet No Score Yet How Arnold Won the West Unknown (Character) - 2004
32% 34% Around the World in 80 Days Prince Hapl (Character) $24.0M 2004
70% 46% Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines The Terminator (T-800) (Character) $150.4M 2003
19% 27% Collateral Damage Gordy Brewer (Character) - 2002
40% 33% The 6th Day Adam Gibson (Character),
Producer
$34.5M 2000
11% 33% End of Days Jericho Cane (Character) $66.9M 1999
12% 16% Batman & Robin Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze (Character) $107.3M 1997
20% 41% Jingle All the Way Howard 'Howie' Langston (Character) $60.6M 1996
43% 40% Eraser John "The Eraser" Kruger (Character) $101.3M 1996
No Score Yet 92% Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time The Terminator (Character) - 1996
39% 22% Junior Dr. Alex Hesse (Character) $36.7M 1994
70% 76% True Lies Harry Tasker (Character) $146.3M 1994
No Score Yet 20% Beretta's Island Self - 1994
42% 48% Last Action Hero Jack Slater/Himself (Character),
Executive Producer
- 1993
No Score Yet 31% Christmas in Connecticut Director - 1992
No Score Yet 43% Feed Self - 1992
91% 95% Terminator 2: Judgment Day The Terminator (T-800 Model 101) (Character) $552.8K 1991
54% 52% Kindergarten Cop Detective John Kimble (Character) $88.6M 1990
82% 79% Total Recall Douglas Quaid (Character) $117.8M 1990
69% 38% Red Heat Capt. Ivan Danko (Character) $35.0M 1988
42% 39% Twins Julius Benedict (Character) $107.4M 1988
80% 87% Predator Dutch (Character) $54.4M 1987
67% 61% The Running Man Ben Richards (Character) $38.0M 1987
31% 29% Raw Deal Mark Kaminsky (Character) $14.8M 1986
21% 29% Red Sonja Kalidor (Character) - 1985
68% 68% Commando Colonel John Matrix (Character) $34.9M 1985
100% 89% The Terminator The Terminator (Character) - 1984
29% 38% Conan the Destroyer Conan (Character) - 1984
67% 74% Conan the Barbarian Conan (Character) - 1982
No Score Yet 12% The Jayne Mansfield Story Mickey Hargitay (Character) - 1980
0% 39% The Villain Handsome Stranger (Character) - 1979
92% 84% Pumping Iron Self - 1977
69% 40% Stay Hungry Joe Santo (Character) - 1976
No Score Yet No Score Yet Happy Anniversary and Goodbye Rico (Character) - 1974
14% 27% Hercules in New York Hercules (Character) - 1970

TV

Credit
No Score Yet 50% The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Guest 2023-2024
No Score Yet 44% The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Guest 2014-2016 2020 2024
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Graham Norton Show Guest 2012 2019-2020 2023
No Score Yet 55% The Kelly Clarkson Show Guest 2021 2023
No Score Yet 12% The View Guest 2023
No Score Yet 42% Jimmy Kimmel Live! Guest 2019-2023
No Score Yet No Score Yet Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? Guest 2023
70% 92% Arnold Self 2023
50% 68% FUBAR Luke (Character),
Executive Producer
2023
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Greatest #AtHome Videos Guest 2020
No Score Yet 18% The Late Late Show With James Corden Guest 2015 2019
83% 85% James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction Guest 2018
No Score Yet No Score Yet Jay Leno's Garage Unknown (Guest Star) 2018
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Apprentice Unknown (Guest Star),
Executive Producer,
Host
2007 2017
No Score Yet 100% Years of Living Dangerously Unknown (Character),
Executive Producer
2014 2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet Explorer Guest 2015
No Score Yet No Score Yet Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Guest 2013
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Daily Show Guest 2012
82% 90% Tales From the Crypt Director 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Streets of San Francisco Josef Schmidt (Guest Star) 1977