50 free Arnold Schwarzenegger trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
44 free Arnold Schwarzenegger trivia questions with answers. Arnold Schwarzenegger has had three careers most people would settle for one of: seven-time Mr. Olympia, the biggest action star of the 1980s and 1990s, and two-term Governor of California. This quiz covers all three, plus the parts in between: the village of Thal, the week in Austrian military prison, the thick accent that got him dubbed in his first film, and the Hummer he talked a defence contractor into selling to civilians. Expect questions on Conan, The Terminator, Predator, Total Recall, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, True Lies and Junior; on Mr. Universe, Pumping Iron and the controversial 1980 comeback; on the recall election, the Kennedy in-laws and the Governator nickname; and on his books, heart surgeries and Netflix comeback. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on Schwarzenegger and his films. The early questions are for casual fans; the later ones about his degree, his stage name and his stone-lifting title are for people who have read the autobiography.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which country was Arnold Schwarzenegger born?
Austria
He was born in the village of Thal in Styria in 1947. His father Gustav was the local police chief.
Q 02How many times did Schwarzenegger win the Mr. Olympia title?
Seven
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.
Q 03What was Schwarzenegger's nickname during his bodybuilding days?
The Austrian Oak
Later nicknames included Arnie, Schwarzy and, once he entered politics, the Governator.
Q 04How old was Schwarzenegger when he first won Mr. Universe, becoming its youngest ever winner?
20
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.
Q 05How old was Schwarzenegger when he won his first Mr. Olympia in 1970?
23
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.
Q 06What did Schwarzenegger do during his 1965 army service that landed him a week in military prison?
Went AWOL to enter a bodybuilding contest
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'.
Q 07Which 1977 documentary about the Mr. Olympia contest launched Schwarzenegger's film career?
Pumping Iron
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.
Q 08Under what stage name was Schwarzenegger credited in his 1970 debut Hercules in New York?
Arnold Strong
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.
Q 09For which 1976 film did Schwarzenegger win a Golden Globe as New Star of the Year?
Stay Hungry
He lost significant weight for the Jeff Bridges film and then had only three months to bulk back up for the 1975 Mr. Olympia.
Q 10Which TV superhero role did Schwarzenegger lose to Lou Ferrigno because of his height?
The Incredible Hulk
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.
Q 11Which 1982 sword-and-sorcery epic was Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film?
Conan the Barbarian
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.
Q 12Who directed The Terminator, the 1984 film that gave Schwarzenegger his signature role?
James Cameron
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.
Q 13In The Terminator, from what year is the cyborg sent back to kill Sarah Connor?
2029
Kyle Reese, played by Michael Biehn, is sent back from the same war against Skynet to protect her.
Q 21Which 1993 self-aware blockbuster spoof flopped after opening against Jurassic Park?
Last Action Hero
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.
Q 22Which supervillain did Schwarzenegger play in 1997's Batman & Robin?
Mr. Freeze
It was his last film before a break for back surgery, and its critical failure marked the start of his box-office decline.
Q 23Which fellow 1980s action star was Schwarzenegger's famous rival before they invested together in Planet Hollywood?
Sylvester Stallone
They attacked each other in the press and competed over body counts and bigger guns before finally co-starring in Escape Plan in 2013.
Q 14Terminator 2: Judgment Day was the highest-grossing film of which year?
1991
It took over $519 million worldwide and won four Oscars. Schwarzenegger persuaded Carolco to buy the sequel rights from a struggling Hemdale.
Q 15What is the name of Schwarzenegger's character, the rescue team leader, in Predator?
Dutch
He later used the film's line 'get to the choppa' when firing contestants on The New Celebrity Apprentice.
Q 16What is the name of the retired Special Forces colonel Schwarzenegger plays in Commando?
John Matrix
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.
Q 17Which 1990 sci-fi film, based on a Philip K. Dick story, casts Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid?
Total Recall
He earned $10 million plus 15 percent of the gross. Paul Verhoeven directed after sixteen years of development hell and forty script drafts.
Q 18Which director made all three of Schwarzenegger's comedies Twins, Kindergarten Cop and Junior?
Ivan Reitman
Junior earned Arnold a second Golden Globe nomination for playing a scientist who gets pregnant with the help of a drug called Expectane.
Q 19How was Schwarzenegger paid for Twins, the 1988 comedy with Danny DeVito?
No salary, but a share of the profits
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.
Q 20In Kindergarten Cop, detective John Kimble goes undercover as a teacher in a small town in which state?
Oregon
Filming took place in Astoria. Bill Murray and Patrick Swayze were both considered for the role before Arnold.
Q 24On which late-night show did Schwarzenegger announce his 2003 California governor run?
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
He was elected in the recall of Gray Davis with 48.6 percent of the vote and was sworn in that November.
Q 25Which governor did Schwarzenegger replace after the 2003 California recall election?
Gray Davis
Davis was recalled with 55.4 percent of the vote. Arnold beat Democrat Cruz Bustamante by about 1.3 million votes to succeed him.
Q 26Which number governor of California was Schwarzenegger?
38th
He was only the second foreign-born governor of the state, after Irish-born John G. Downey in 1862.
Q 27What was Schwarzenegger's nickname as governor, a blend of his job title and his most famous role?
The Governator
He later co-developed a comic-book and cartoon character of the same name with Stan Lee, though the project was halted in 2011.
Q 28What SNL-derived insult did Governor Schwarzenegger aim at Democratic state politicians?
Girlie men
The 'Hans and Franz' sketch had mocked his bodybuilding persona for years.
Q 29Why can Schwarzenegger never run for President of the United States?
He is not a natural-born citizen
He became a US citizen in 1983 and has kept his Austrian citizenship since birth.
Q 30Which president made Schwarzenegger fitness council chairman, dubbing him 'Conan the Republican'?
George H. W. Bush
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.