Movie Photographs
When people come to me with a movie concept or a script, I always ask, “What is the poster? What is the image? What are we trying to sell here?”
I starred in Hercules in New York in 1969, but the producer went broke before the movie could be released. Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
Seven years later I got a supporting part in director Bob Rafelson’s Stay Hungry, for which I won a Golden Globe (that’s Raquel Welch I’m hoisting in celebration). Frank Edwards / Getty Images
Jeff Bridges, who starred, was generous with acting tips. Courtesy of MGM Media Licensing
When we promoted Pumping Iron at the Cannes Film Festival in 1977, George Butler had the idea of dressing cabaret girls from the Crazy Horse in Paris in frilly dresses and bonnets to pose with me on the beach. Keystone / Getty Images
I jumped at the chance to work with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret in the Western spoof The Villain. The name of my character was “Handsome Stranger.” © The Villain Company. All rights reserved.
On the set of Conan the Barbarian in Spain we created a vivid and violent prehistoric world. Above, the fighting pit in which young Conan slaughters his way out of slavery. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, LLC
I broiled in the hot sun while I was crucified on the Tree of Woe. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, LLC
Director John Milius, who loved stogies as much as me, was fanatical that the fantasy be accurate in every detail. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, LLC
In 1983, before heading to Mexico to shoot Conan the Destroyer, I celebrated becoming a U.S. citizen. Michael Montfort / interTOPICS
Why eat all alone in your personal trailer when you can hang out with the crew and cast? Above, it’s chowtime on location in Mexico for Conan the Destroyer. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, LLC
Wilt Chamberlain, who played the treacherous Bombaata, and André the Giant, who played the evil beast god Dagoth, give me the unusual sensation of being the little guy. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, LLC
As the Terminator, I worked on selling the idea that I was a machine that can’t be bargained with, can’t be reasoned with, doesn’t feel pity, remorse, or fear, and will not stop, ever, until its target is dead. Courtesy of MGM Media Licensing
The scene in the makeup trailer is sometimes even weirder than what shows up onscreen. Schwarzenegger Archive
Preparations for the Terminator’s do-it-yourself forearm and eyeball repairs. Schwarzenegger Archive
I visited the Vatican with Maria and her parents in 1983 for a private audience with Pope John Paul II. To him, besides religion, life was about taking care of both your mind and your body. So we talked about his workouts. Schwarzenegger Archive
After the sacrifices she’d made to raise my brother and me, I wanted my mother to have a rich life. Here I’ve brought her to meet President Reagan at a state dinner at the White House in 1986. Official White House photo
Milton Berle became my comedy mentor. He’d encourage me by saying, “You being funny with your accent is twice as big a deal as me being funny. They expect me to be funny!” Schwarzenegger Archive
The great Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal himself helped me force a retraction when a London tabloid called me a neo-Nazi in 1988. Art Waldinger/ Tru-Dimension Co.
I helped Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush in his successful bid for the presidency in 1988. Here we prepare speeches between campaign stops aboard Air Force Two. Official White House photo
Economist Milton Friedman, whom I got to know in his retirement, had a profound influence on my political philosophy. George T. Kruse
It took just five years after the premiere of Conan the Barbarian for me to earn the ultimate Hollywood validation, a star on the Walk of Fame. Michael Montfort / interTOPICS
My political mentor, Fredi Gerstl, is a Jew who joined the resistance in World War II and ended up president of the Austrian parliament. Schwarzenegger Archive
Less than forty-eight hours before Maria and I were due to be married in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, I was covered with mud in a Mexican jungle shooting Predator. © 1987 Twentieth Century Fox. All rights reserved.
Danny DeVito is a master of comedy, loves stogies, and cooks pasta on the set—no wonder he made such a great twin. Schwarzenegger Archive
Paul Verhoeven directs Sharon Stone and me for the scene in Total Recall in which my character loses his illusions about his marriage. StudioCanal
Director Ivan Reitman took a chance on me as a comic hero. Here we clown around with cotton candy on the set of Kindergarten Cop. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, LLC
Tobogganing at Camp David, President George H. W. Bush and I are about to crash into the First Lady. His inscription on the photo reads in part, “Turn, damn it, turn!!” Official White House photo
President Nixon put me on the spot to speak at a holiday exhibit opening at his presidential library— afterward, with him and comedian Bob Hope, I was feeling relieved. Ron P. Jaffe / The Nixon Foundation
Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis, and I had great fun opening Planet Hollywood restaurants around the world. This opening was in London. Dave Benett / Getty Images
My character and his stolen Harley were a perfect combination of cyborg and machine in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. StudioCanal
In the makeup trailer on the set of Terminator 2, I’m boning up on real life—our daughter Katherine was turning one and another baby was on the way. StudioCanal
Sometimes it’s hard to explain to your toddler what you do at the office. Katherine was freaked out by the Terminator mannequin at the studio of special effects wizard Stan Winston. Schwarzenegger Archive
Clint Eastwood, one of my heroes, described a shot to me when I visited the set of In the Line of Fire in 1993. © 1993 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Maria and I turned the making of True Lies in 1993 into a family adventure. Patrick was a newborn, Christina was two, and Katherine almost four. © 1994 Twentieth Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.
Jim Cameron shows how he wants my character Harry Tasker to fight his way out of a terrorist camp, on location in the Florida Keys. © 1994 Twentieth Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.
Jamie Lee Curtis was Helen, my onscreen wife. © 1994 Twentieth Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.
I’ve been retired from bodybuilding since 1980 but I’ll always stay involved. Here I’m celebrating the winners of the 1994 Arnold Classic, Kevin Levrone and Laura Creavalle. Schwarzenegger Archive
Maria puts a brave face on a scary situation. Open-heart surgery in 1997 to replace a defective valve failed on the first try; the next day the doctors had to open me up again. Schwarzenegger Archive
Muhammad Ali and I had been friends for over twenty years when we teamed up in 2000 to raise funds for the Inner City Games Foundation and the Muhammad Ali Center. Herb Ritts/trunkarchive.com
Christina, six, climbed up for a friendly Daddy-daughter chat while I was crucified for End of Days, a turn-of-the-millennium thriller. Courtesy of Universal Licensing, LLC
Christopher, one, and Patrick, four, also visited the set. Courtesy of Universal Licensing, LLC
I loved working with Danny Hernandez, on my left, the ex-Marine who masterminded the Hollenbeck Youth Center in East LA. It provides kids in a poor, gang-infested neighborhood with a place to go and gives problem kids a second chance. Schwarzenegger Archive
I get goose bumps when Nelson Mandela talks about inclusion, tolerance, and forgiveness. In 2001 we met at Robben Island, where he spent twenty-seven years in prison, to light the Flame of Hope for the Special Olympics African Hope Games. Christian Jauschowetz
My first political campaign was crusading in 2002 to pass a ballot initiative to set up after-school programs at every elementary and middle school in California. Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
At the request of New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, I toured Ground Zero three days after 9/11 to thank the first responders and help boost morale. FDNY Photo Unit
Former President Bill Clinton loved visiting movie sets. On his way to a speech in 2003, he stopped by the set of Terminator 3. Robert Zuckerman
In 2010, during my last year as governor, the state partnered with environmentalists and preservationists to set aside the land around the iconic Hollywood sign. California State Archives / Reter Grigsby
As soon as I left the statehouse, I went back to work on the movie set. Above, I’m on location with Sly and Bruce in Bulgaria, where we filmed Expendables 2. Frank Masi / Millennium Films
I’m duking it out on top of a truck in The Last Stand. Courtesy of Lionsgate