Bodybuilding royalty Arnold Schwarzenegger transcended the “sport” and made it big in Tinseltown. The ‘Austrian Oak’ put his heart and soul into his dream and won a whole host of bodybuilding accolades, including seven Mr. Olympia titles and four Mr. Universe titles. It is this passion that catapulted Schwarzenegger into the movies, helping him fulfill another dream. 

At the age of 22, Arnold Schwarzenegger had already won the Mr. Universe thrice (2 professional, 1 amateur). His commanding Greek God-like physique was so impressive that it attracted attention from outside the bodybuilding sphere as well. This majestic presence helped him receive his first film role. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger received one instruction for his 1969 Hollywood audition

After almost four-and-a-half decades in the public sphere, the Hollywood icon spilled the beans on how he landed the titular role in Hercules in New York.

In a 2015 interview with SiriusXM’s Howard Stern, Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “Someone called the gym and said we want to talk to Schwarzenegger about Hercules in New York and then Joe Weider called me.”

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Joe Weider was his mentor, who, as per Schwarzenegger’s recollection, said, “‘Arnold, they’re casting Hercules and I just told them that they have to hire you. You’re the big new bodybuilding champion. You’re 22 years old. They should get you. This is the best thing’.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger continued, “Then I went to an interview with them, and they gave me the part. I didn’t even have to read, I didn’t even talk, Joe said ‘shut up and don’t talk.’ He says ‘I do the talking. You just sit there and keep your chest out and look proud and look strong’.”

This may have seemed like a cakewalk, but his efforts to sculpt his immaculate frame would have been immense. 

Even though Arnold Schwarzenegger achieved his Hollywood dream quickly, he wasn’t heard in his debut film. This did not bother him. 

‘Arnie’ was just delighted to be in a movie, but continued to work hard on his voice

Arnold Schwarzenegger, credited as Arnold Strong, had his voice dubbed in Hercules in New York. When Stern asked if he was insulted about this, ‘Austrian Oak’ replied, “No, no. In this case, I was so amazed…So I didn’t care what they did. If they only left me in the movie for three minutes. I was in heaven to just be part of it.”

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The Hercules in New York voice snub may or may not have stung him. Nevertheless, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made it in with his presence, knew that he had to be heard and worked hard towards his goal. The foot in the door didn’t see him get complacent. Instead, he became even more determined as he tasted his dream.

The bodybuilding icon had way more than three minutes in the 1970 film. Eventually, the Mr. Olympia titles came and Schwarzenegger won the Golden Globe Award under his own name en route to becoming an action hero. 

Before he got the role of Hercules, the bodybuilder had no plans to act as a 22-year-old. Schwarzenegger recollected his thoughts from 1969, saying, “I have to go to acting class, I have to really work on my accent, I have to really learn the language. I was not ready at all.”

Years later, ahead of Conan, he recalled, “By that time I had taken so many acting lessons and voice lessons and speech lessons and accent removal lessons…” 

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The seven-time Mr. Olympia winner did not let his muscular physique restrict him. Although he made waves portraying action heroes, ‘Austrian Oak’ also proved himself in comedies such as Jingle All The Way and Kindergarten Cop. Arnold Schwarzenegger voiced his own dialogues without a dub in these films, which was a testament to his hard work on his voice. 

Did you know the tale of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first foray into Hollywood?