[11] After retiring from bodybuilding, Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action star, with his breakthrough in the sword and sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian (1982),[12] a box-office success with a sequel in 1984.

In World War II, Gustav served as a military policeman in the invasions of Poland, France and the Soviet Union, including the siege of Leningrad, rising to the title of Hauptfeldwebel.

"[34] Schwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local movie theaters to see films with bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller.

[46] LA Weekly said in 2002 that Schwarzenegger was "the most famous US immigrant", who "overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s".

[33] Months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore persuaded Schwarzenegger to compete and film his training in the bodybuilding documentary called Pumping Iron.

This victory (subject of the documentary The Comeback) was highly controversial, though, as fellow competitors and many observers felt that his lack of muscle mass (especially in his thighs) and subpar conditioning should have precluded him from winning against a very competitive lineup that year.

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.

Film critic Roger Ebert commented that "Schwarzenegger's genius as a movie star is to find roles that build on, rather than undermine, his physical and vocal characteristics.

[77] In tribute to Schwarzenegger in 2002, Forum Stadtpark, a local cultural association, proposed plans to build a 25-meter-tall (80 ft) Terminator statue in a park in central Graz.

In January 2011, just weeks after leaving office in California, Schwarzenegger announced that he was reading several new scripts for future films, one of them being the World War II action drama With Wings as Eagles, written by Randall Wallace, based on a true story.

The western-drama set in the Oklahoma Indian Territory in the late 19th century will follow a deputy (portrayed by Schwarzenegger) who is tasked with apprehending a legendary outlaw in the wilderness, but is forced to partner with a ruthless Federal Marshal to make sure justice is properly served.

[109][110] Schwarzenegger goes on to tell of how he and his then wife Maria Shriver were in Palm Springs preparing to play a game of mixed doubles when Milton Friedman's famous show came on the television.

Between 1993 and 1994, Schwarzenegger was a Red Cross ambassador (a ceremonial role fulfilled by celebrities), recording several television and radio public service announcements to donate blood.

Building on a catchphrase from the sketch "Hans and Franz" from Saturday Night Live (which partly parodied his bodybuilding career), Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians "girlie men".

[128][129] Wendy Leigh, who wrote an unofficial biography on Schwarzenegger, claims he plotted his political rise from an early age using the movie business and bodybuilding as the means to escape a depressing home.

[153] One of the women who came forward was British television personality Anna Richardson, who settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger; his top aide, Sean Walsh; and his publicist, Sheryl Main.

Schwarzenegger also signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who do not meet the state's greenhouse gas emission standards.

Presidential aspirations by the Austrian-born Schwarzenegger would be blocked by a constitutional hurdle; Article II, Section I, Clause V, prevents individuals who are not natural-born citizens of the United States from assuming the office.

His path to financial independence came as a result of his success as a proactive businessman and investor involved with a series of lucrative business ventures and real estate investments.

[177][178] Schwarzenegger remarked that the restaurant did not achieve the success that he had hoped for, claiming he wanted to focus his attention on "new US global business ventures" and his then-burgeoning acting career.

[181] In 2018, Schwarzenegger partnered with basketball player LeBron James to establish Ladder, a company that developed nutritional supplements to help athletes with severe cramps.

[38] Although Baker claims that when she first met Schwarzenegger, he had "little understanding of polite society" and she found him a turn-off, she says, "He's as much a self-made man as it's possible to be—he never got encouragement from his parents, his family, his brother.

[208] On May 16, 2011, the Los Angeles Times revealed that Schwarzenegger had fathered a son, Joseph, more than 14 years earlier with an employee in their household, Mildred Patricia "Patty" Baena.

[237] Schwarzenegger's private jet made an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport on June 19, 2009, after the pilot reported smoke coming from the cockpit, according to a statement released by his press secretary.

Schwarzenegger was driving a black GMC Yukon SUV near the intersections of Sunset Boulevard and Allenford Avenue in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, when his vehicle collided with a red Toyota Prius.

[272] In 2004, Schwarzenegger visited Israel to break ground on Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, and to lay a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, he also met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katsav.

[278] Schwarzenegger inspired many actors to become action heroes, including Dwayne Johnson,[279][280] Matt McColm,[281] Christian Boeving,[282] Vidyut Jamwal,[283] and Daniel Greene.

[282] Boeving's character in the 2003 action film When Eagles Strike was based on Schwarzenegger's image from the late 1980s: mostly on Major "Dutch" Schaefer from Predator (1987) and Colonel John Matrix from Commando (1985).

It kills people and the only way we prevent it is: get vaccinated, wear masks, do social distancing, washing your hands all the time, and not just to think about, 'Well my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.'

A spokesperson for the customs agency said that Schwarzenegger would face criminal tax proceedings because he failed to declare an item that originated in a country that is not a part of the European Union.