Arnold Schwarzenegger, who turns 65 today, was recently spotted cycling in Los Angeles. Arnie has been working hard to get back to shape for his upcoming film projects.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who turns 65 today, was recently spotted cycling in Los Angeles. Arnie has been working hard to get back to shape for his upcoming film projects.
The body-building legend received the Comic-Con Inkpot Award this year for his contribution to cinema. At the convention, the actor said he missed doing action movies during his stint in politics. “You wish you could do some of those things when you're in politics, but you know, you can't,” dailystar.co.uk quoted Mr Arnold as saying.
The actor and former Governor of California will soon be seen in Lionsgate's The Expendables 2 slated to release on August 12, 2012. The actor is also set to star with veteran actor Sylvester Stallone in The Tomb and will be seen alongside Terminator: Salvation star Sam Worthington in the film, Breacher.
The Terminator star arrived in India for the first time as the guest of honour at the 4th Panasonic Green Globe Foundation awards held earlier this year. Arnie also attended the Sustainable Development Summit held in Delhi. Coming Up: Arnold Schwarzenegger's life in pics
We take a look at the highs and the lows of Arnold Schwarzenegger's personal and professional life.
Alois Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria, on July 30, 1947. His father served in World War II, after he voluntarily applied to join the Nazi Party in 1938.
The amazing story of uber-star Arnold Schwarzenegger is a true "rags to riches" story of the penniless immigrant making it in the land of opportunity, the US.
The Austrian American bodybuilder, actor, model, businessman, and now politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California, began weight-training at the age of 15.
Arnold's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia. His first attempt was in 1969, when he lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva. However, Schwarzenegger came back in 1970 and won the competition, making him the youngest ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 23, a record he holds to this day.
He was awarded the title of Mr Universe at the age of 22 and went on to win the title of Mr Olympia a total of seven times. He has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement and has written several books and numerous articles on the sport.
He was nicknamed the 'Austrian Oak' and the 'Styrian Oak' in his bodybuilding days, 'Arnold Strong' and 'Arnie' during his acting career, and the 'Governator' (a portmanteau of "Governor" and Terminator) more recently.
In 1980, Arnold decided to come out of retirement and compete, again, for the Mr. Olympia title. This was to be one of the most disputed Mr. Olympia's ever as with only eight weeks to prepare for this contest, Arnold won despite other contenders being in top shape. There are many allegations of how and why Arnold won; some believe that he had influence over the judges. Nevertheless, Arnold won his 7th Mr. Olympia title. This was a record that would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth title in 1991.
Arnold drew attention and boosted his profile in the bodybuilding film Pumping Iron (1977), elements of which were dramatised.
Arnold has openly admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1977 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up."
Arnold wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the role of Hercules in 1970's Hercules in New York. Credited under the name Arnold Strong, his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production. His second film appearance was as a deaf mute hit-man for the mob in director Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film Stay Hungry (1976), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe for New Male Star of the Year.
Hampered by an impossible to pronounce surname, a thick accent and and uber-muscular frame, success in the movie industry eluded Arnold for many years. It wasn't until the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian that he truly came into his own as a performer. A succession of over-the-top action films made him an international box office star.
Schwarzenegger has discussed his early struggles in developing his acting career. "It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was 'too weird', that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance."
If Conan was the kick-start to Arnold's movie career, then his next role was to put the pedal to the floor and accelerate his star status into overdrive. Director James Cameron penned a fast paced, science fiction themed film that called for an actor to play an unstoppable, ruthless predator - The Terminator (1984). The 1984 high voltage action/thriller, which was made on a relatively modest budget, was incredibly successful worldwide, and began one of the most profitable film franchises in history.
Arnold's dead pan phrase "I'll be back" from the Terminator series quickly became part of popular culture across the globe. Action movie fans were to see Arnold reap box office gold in roles portraying tough, no-nonsense individuals who used their fists, guns and witty one-liners to get the job done.
He was a part of a number of successful films like Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), and Red Heat (1988).
Arnold's commercial peak was his return as the title character in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was the highest-grossing film of 1991.
Arnold grabbed headlines around the world when he separated from Maria Shriver, his wife of 25 years. On May 16, 2011, it was revealed that Arnold had fathered a son with Mildred Patricia 'Patty' Baena, an employee in their household.
"After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago," Schwarzenegger told The Times.
Fifty-year-old Mildred Patricia 'Patty' Baena, of Guatemalan origin, was employed by the family for 20 years and she retired in January 2011. Pregnant Mildred was working at the Schwarzeneggers household, while Maria was pregnant with the youngest of the couple's four children.
Mildred's son with Arnold, Joseph, was born on October 2, 1997, while Maria gave birth to their fourth child Christopher, only a few days earlier on September 27, 1997.
Arnold Schwarzenegger filed a kinder, gentler divorce petition agreeing to pay his estranged wife, Maria Shriver, spousal support and to cover her attorneys' fees once their split is final.
There were reports that Arnold was not keen to pay alimony or provide spousal support to ex-wife Maria Shriver. Lawyers for the actor marked two points of conflict — Maria's requests for spousal support and that Arnold pays her legal fees. The couple had no prenuptial agreement, meaning all assets and property accrued during their 25 year marriage — estimated at around $400 million — will be divided equally. Coming up: The scandalous life of Arnie...
Arnold had a string of relationships before he met his wife-to-be Maria Shriver at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977. In August 1978, when news of his infidelity came out, actress Brigitte Nielsen came forward and confessed that she too had an affair with Schwarzenegger while he was in a relationship with Maria. She said, "Maybe I wouldn't have got into it if he said 'I'm going to marry Maria' and this is dead serious, but he didn't, and our affair carried on."
In 1997, during his initial campaign for the post of Governor, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger, dubbed "Gropegate". Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the Los Angeles Times recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, six of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories.
Here's wishing The Terminator a great and scandal-free year ahead.
