50 Fun Facts About Arnold Schwarzenegger

In which country was Arnold Schwarzenegger born?

He was born in the village of Thal in Styria in 1947. His father Gustav was the local police chief.

How many times did Schwarzenegger win the Mr. Olympia title?

He won in 1970 to 1975 and again in 1980. Lee Haney broke the record with an eighth title in 1991; Phil Heath later tied Arnold's seven.

What was Schwarzenegger's nickname during his bodybuilding days?

Later nicknames included Arnie, Schwarzy and, once he entered politics, the Governator.

How old was Schwarzenegger when he first won Mr. Universe, becoming its youngest ever winner?

He won in London in 1967, a year after finishing second to American Chester Yorton, and went on to take the title four more times.

How old was Schwarzenegger when he won his first Mr. Olympia in 1970?

He had lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva the year before. The 1970 contest was held in New York and he remains its youngest winner.

What did Schwarzenegger do during his 1965 army service that landed him a week in military prison?

He won the Junior Mr. Europe contest while absent without leave. He said the competition 'meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences'.

Which 1977 documentary about the Mr. Olympia contest launched Schwarzenegger's film career?

Some scenes were dramatised, including his claim to have skipped his father's funeral for training. He bought the rights to the film and its outtakes in 1991.

Under what stage name was Schwarzenegger credited in his 1970 debut Hercules in New York?

His accent was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production. Agents told him his body was 'too weird' and his name too long.

For which 1976 film did Schwarzenegger win a Golden Globe as New Star of the Year?

He lost significant weight for the Jeff Bridges film and then had only three months to bulk back up for the 1975 Mr. Olympia.

Which TV superhero role did Schwarzenegger lose to Lou Ferrigno because of his height?

Ferrigno had been his rival in Pumping Iron. Arnold settled for guest spots on The Streets of San Francisco and The San Pedro Beach Bums that year.

Which 1982 sword-and-sorcery epic was Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film?

Its sequel Conan the Destroyer followed in 1984. Training for the role got him in such shape that he entered the 1980 Mr. Olympia on a whim and won.

Who directed The Terminator, the 1984 film that gave Schwarzenegger his signature role?

Cameron dreamed up a metal torso dragging itself from an explosion while ill in Rome. The film grossed $78 million on a $6.4 million budget.

In The Terminator, from what year is the cyborg sent back to kill Sarah Connor?

Kyle Reese, played by Michael Biehn, is sent back from the same war against Skynet to protect her.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day was the highest-grossing film of which year?

It took over $519 million worldwide and won four Oscars. Schwarzenegger persuaded Carolco to buy the sequel rights from a struggling Hemdale.

What is the name of Schwarzenegger's character, the rescue team leader, in Predator?

He later used the film's line 'get to the choppa' when firing contestants on The New Celebrity Apprentice.

What is the name of the retired Special Forces colonel Schwarzenegger plays in Commando?

He is told to assassinate a president in Val Verde, jumps off the plane as it takes off, and has about eleven hours to get his daughter back.

Which 1990 sci-fi film, based on a Philip K. Dick story, casts Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid?

He earned $10 million plus 15 percent of the gross. Paul Verhoeven directed after sixteen years of development hell and forty script drafts.

Which director made all three of Schwarzenegger's comedies Twins, Kindergarten Cop and Junior?

Junior earned Arnold a second Golden Globe nomination for playing a scientist who gets pregnant with the help of a drug called Expectane.

How was Schwarzenegger paid for Twins, the 1988 comedy with Danny DeVito?

The studio doubted he could do comedy, so he gambled and walked away with more than $40 million, the biggest payday of his career. It was his first film to make $100 million domestically.

In Kindergarten Cop, detective John Kimble goes undercover as a teacher in a small town in which state?

Filming took place in Astoria. Bill Murray and Patrick Swayze were both considered for the role before Arnold.

Which 1993 self-aware blockbuster spoof flopped after opening against Jurassic Park?

He bounced back the next year with True Lies, reuniting with James Cameron, and the same year turned down The Rock, a decision he came to regret.

Which supervillain did Schwarzenegger play in 1997's Batman & Robin?

It was his last film before a break for back surgery, and its critical failure marked the start of his box-office decline.

Which fellow 1980s action star was Schwarzenegger's famous rival before they invested together in Planet Hollywood?

They attacked each other in the press and competed over body counts and bigger guns before finally co-starring in Escape Plan in 2013.

On which late-night show did Schwarzenegger announce his 2003 California governor run?

He was elected in the recall of Gray Davis with 48.6 percent of the vote and was sworn in that November.

Which governor did Schwarzenegger replace after the 2003 California recall election?

Davis was recalled with 55.4 percent of the vote. Arnold beat Democrat Cruz Bustamante by about 1.3 million votes to succeed him.

Which number governor of California was Schwarzenegger?

He was only the second foreign-born governor of the state, after Irish-born John G. Downey in 1862.

What was Schwarzenegger's nickname as governor, a blend of his job title and his most famous role?

He later co-developed a comic-book and cartoon character of the same name with Stan Lee, though the project was halted in 2011.

What SNL-derived insult did Governor Schwarzenegger aim at Democratic state politicians?

The 'Hans and Franz' sketch had mocked his bodybuilding persona for years.

Why can Schwarzenegger never run for President of the United States?

He became a US citizen in 1983 and has kept his Austrian citizenship since birth.

Which president made Schwarzenegger fitness council chairman, dubbing him 'Conan the Republican'?

He served from 1990 to 1993 after campaigning with Bush in 1988. He says he became a Republican watching Nixon on TV within weeks of arriving in America in 1968.

Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver in 1986. She is the niece of which US president?

They met at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in 1977. Her mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the Special Olympics, which Arnold has long supported.

What civilian vehicle did Schwarzenegger persuade AM General to build in 1992?

He was the first civilian to own a military Humvee. As governor he had one converted to run on hydrogen for about $21,000.

What was the name of the Santa Monica restaurant Schwarzenegger and his wife opened in 1992?

Schatzi means 'little treasure', or colloquially 'darling', in German. He sold it in 1998.

What was the title of Schwarzenegger's 2012 autobiography?

One chapter, 'The Secret', covers the affair with his housekeeper. His 2023 follow-up was Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life.

Where did Schwarzenegger earn a 1980 business degree, mostly by correspondence?

He had piled up credits at Santa Monica College and UCLA extension, then flew to Superior for exams and the graduation ceremony.

Which reality series did Schwarzenegger front for one season in 2016–17, replacing Donald Trump?

He fired contestants with 'you're terminated' and quit after Trump repeatedly mocked his ratings, suggesting they swap jobs.

What was Schwarzenegger's first leading role in a scripted TV series, a 2023 Netflix action comedy?

He played CIA veteran Luke Brunner. It debuted at number one and ran two seasons before cancellation.

What heart defect was Schwarzenegger born with, leading to surgeries in 1997, 2018 and 2020?

He chose a Ross procedure over a mechanical valve in 1997, knowing it would need replacing; the 2018 replacement became emergency open-heart surgery.

In which German city did Schwarzenegger win a 1967 stone-lifting contest, hoisting a 254 kg stone?

He was living there, attending business school and working at Rolf Putziger's gym, between his first two Mr. Universe wins.

At which legendary Venice, California gym did Schwarzenegger train under Joe Weider from 1968?

He arrived at 21 speaking little English. Training partner Ric Drasin designed the gym's famous logo in 1973.

How many weeks did Schwarzenegger have to prepare for his 1980 Mr. Olympia comeback win?

He was hired as a TV commentator and announced at the last minute that he would compete. Rival Mike Mentzer felt cheated and quit the sport.

What did Schwarzenegger say he did as a teenager when the Graz gym was closed on weekends?

'It would make me sick to miss a workout,' he said. His father had wanted him to be a policeman and his mother wanted trade school.

What did Schwarzenegger direct in 1992, his last directing credit as of 2025?

He had also directed a 1990 Tales from the Crypt episode called 'The Switch', and had not directed again as of 2025.

What did Schwarzenegger decline to accept during his eight years as governor?

He was already worth hundreds of millions from films and real estate, starting with an apartment building he bought for $10,000.

In which village in the Austrian state of Styria was Schwarzenegger born in 1947?

His father Gustav was the local police chief; a 25-metre Terminator statue was later proposed for nearby Graz.

In which state did Schwarzenegger break his femur after tripping over a ski pole in December 2006?

Surgeons wired the bone with cables and screws in a 90-minute operation three days later.

With which fellow bodybuilder did Schwarzenegger start a bricklaying business in 1968?

Demand jumped after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the profits seeded a mail-order business and real estate buys.

Which Republican did Schwarzenegger endorse in the party's 2016 presidential primaries?

That October he said he would not vote for Donald Trump, the first time he skipped a Republican nominee.

Which 2006 California law signed by Governor Schwarzenegger created the nation's first cap on greenhouse gases?

Weeks later he ordered California to work with the Northeast's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative on carbon credits.

Which Democratic state treasurer did Schwarzenegger beat for re-election as governor in 2006?

He won 56.0% to 38.9% despite a poor national year for Republicans, then left office in 2011 with a 23% approval rating.