Trivia

He saved a man's life while on vacation in Hawaii in 2004 by swimming into the sea to rescue him from drowning.

Second actor to be elected Governor of California. The first was Ronald Reagan.

Refused to take the salary for Governor of California. Uses private jet at his own expense. (December 2003)

During filming of Total Recall (1990), he noticed that Michael Ironside was constantly on the phone between takes. When he broached the subject with Ironside, he was told the he was phoning his sister and that she was currently suffering from cancer. Arnold immediately brought Michael to his trailer and they had an hour-long 3-way conversation with Ironside's sister about what exercises she should do and what kinds of foods she should be eating. Ironside has never forgotten Schwarzenegger's kindness and neither has his sister.

Childhood friends stated that he often said his goals in life were to move to America, become an actor, and marry a Kennedy. He accomplished all three.

His famous line "I'll be back", which originated from The Terminator (1984), was originally written as "I'll come back".

Performed many of his own stunts in his films, owing largely to the fact that it was hard to find stunt doubles who matched his size. Billy D. Lucas, Joel Kramer and Peter Kent eventually became his personal stunt doubles and close friends.

Although German is his native language, all his movies have been dubbed into German by Thomas Danneberg for the German-speaking market because his strong rural Austrian accent doesn't fit with the type of roles he plays.

Grew up in a house that had no phone, no fridge and no toilet.

Personal favorite of his own films is Kindergarten Cop (1990).

He kept the sword he used in Conan the Barbarian (1982) in the Governor's office when he served as California's governor.

Was asked to reprise his "Dutch" character from the first Predator (1987) film for the sequel, but he declined because he didn't like the script. He chose to do Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) instead.

Initially refused to star in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) because James Cameron, who created the character and directed the first two films, would not be directing the third installment. Arnold tried to persuade Cameron to do the third film but Cameron declined and, feeling that the Terminator character was as much Arnold's as it was his own, Cameron advised Arnold to just do the third film and ask for a lot of money.

Parents feared he was gay when he was a teenager because he worshipped bodybuilders. His mother Aurelia phoned a doctor because she thought her son was 'turning south' due to all the pictures of oiled up males on his bedroom walls.

Underwent a genioplasty -- a procedure in which his jaw has been moved back so that it no longer juts out.

After he had started lifting weights as a teenager, he noticed that his body was becoming disproportionate. His arms, shoulders and chest were developing nicely, but his calves and lower legs weren't coming along as he wanted. To motivate himself to work harder on his calves, he cut off all of his pants (trousers) at the knee. Walking around like that, people would look at (and maybe even laugh at) the big man with 'chicken' legs. It worked.

Called by the Guinness Book of World Records, "the most perfectly developed man in the history of the world."

Turned down the role of John McClane in Die Hard (1988). The role went to Bruce Willis instead. Ironically, Willis has a line in the film where he says that the terrorists "have enough explosives to orbit Arnold Schwarzenegger".

While filming the behind the scenes documentary for the special edition DVD of Conan the Barbarian (1982), the microphone hit him in the head at the end of the interview, to which he immediately joked "You see, I can't even do an interview about Conan without getting hurt".

Said that filming the climatic fight at the end of Predator (1987) was made difficult by the fact that the late Kevin Peter Hall, who played the Predator, couldn't see through his mask.

James Cameron originally wanted him for the role of Kyle Reese in The Terminator (1984), but after reading the script, Arnold asked Cameron to let him play the part of the Machine. Cameron replied "No, no! Reese is the star! He's the big hero! And the Terminator hardly has any lines!" but Arnold asked him to "trust me".

Went AWOL from the Austrian army to enter his first bodybuilding contest.

He and his 11-year-old son Patrick were injured in a traffic accident when a car ran into Arnold's motorcycle. Patrick was in a sidecar. Arnold received 15 stitches. (February 2005)

His wife Maria Shriver is a niece of the late President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy.

Was good friends with WWE Hall of Famer André René Roussimoff.

Turned down the role of Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket (1987) and opted to do The Running Man (1987) instead.

While in office as governor, a Burger King promotion poster for the triple whopper stated "it's so big and beefy it just might run for governor".

Won Mr. Olympia title seven times (1970-1975, 1980).

In Demolition Man (1993), Sandra Bullock's character Lenina Huxley is telling Sylvester Stallone's character John Spartan about the Arnold Schwarzenegger Presidential Library, explaining that, based on the sheer popularity of Schwarzenegger's movies, a Constitutional amendment was passed in order for Schwarzenegger to run for President, which, according to Huxley, he did. In 2003, ten years after this film's release, Schwarzenegger ran for the office of Governor of California, and won the election on 7 October 2003. While Schwarzenegger is not eligible to run for the presidency by present laws (as a naturalized citizen, not a native-born citizen as required by the Constitution), most past presidents have been governors of their respective home states. Some members of Congress considered an amendment to the Constitution to allow foreign-born US citizens to be allowed to run for the Presidency, specifically with Schwarzenegger in mind, although other members of Congress are strongly opposed to the idea. The idea died quietly after Schwarzenegger stated he himself believes foreign-born citizens should not be eligible to run for the Presidency.

At his bodybuilding peak his chest was 57", waist 34", biceps 22", thighs 28½", calves 20", and his competition weight was 235 lbs (260 lbs off-season).

Has the record for winning the most major bodybuilding events in history, 13 (1 Mr. Junior Western Europe, 7 Mr. Olympias, and 5 Mr. Universes).

Was the original choice to play the title character in RoboCop (1987).

Graduated from University of Wisconsin-Superior with a major in international marketing of fitness and business administration. (1979)

Was considered for the title role in the 1970s TV series The Incredible Hulk (1977), but was reportedly deemed not tall enough. His former bodybuilding competitor, Lou Ferrigno, ultimately won the part.

In his bodybuilding days, he once benchpressed as much as 450 pounds.

His father, Gustav Schwarzenegger, nicknamed him "Cinderella" as a child and his older brother, Meinhard, constantly picked on him growing up. Both men were killed while driving under the influence.

Has a pet miniature pony named Whiskey, which was also the name of Kirk Douglas's horse in The Villain (1979) in which Arnold co-starred. He also has a pet miniature donkey named Lulu.

12/12/05: As governor, he refused to grant clemency to convicted quadruple murderer and former gang leader Stanley Tookie Williams, who had been on Death Row for 24 years.

Due to the dismal failure of Conan the Destroyer (1984), Schwarzenegger rarely ever did sequels to his own movies. He's turned down sequels to Commando (1985), Predator (1987), Total Recall (1990) and True Lies (1994), as well as the third "Conan" film which became Kull: The Conqueror (1997). The only exceptions that he has made are Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), The Expendables 2 (2012), The Expendables 3 (2014) and Terminator Genisys (2015).

He is the first member of the Kennedy family to become a state Governor.

Sold off his Planet Hollywood stock and is no longer a part owner of the chain. (2000)

The Green Party of Austria has resolved to strip Schwarzenegger of his Austrian citizenship due to his support for the death penalty.

Unlike George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell, he does not regret taking the part of Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997). Joel Schumacher threatened not to direct the movie, if he did not play Mr. Freeze.

The character Rainier Wolfecastle in The Simpsons (1989) is based on him.

While filming Predator (1987) he became close friends with co- star Jesse Ventura, who was also later elected a state governor (Minnesota).

Underwent heart surgery to correct a congenital heart valve condition. (April 1997)

Was the first private citizen in the U.S. to own a Humvee (High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle).

After leaving Austria for the first time, he came to England to work, earning under £30 a week.

In his childhood considered John Wayne his idol and role model. As Governor of California, he issued a proclamation making 26 May 2007 "John Wayne Day" in the state.

1983: Became a US citizen.