Fans of Hollywood action flicks need no introduction to Arnold Schwarzenegger or the movies he has acted in over the decades. The bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-politician has immortalised himself as one of the most recognisable faces in world history.
Schwarzenegger made a remarkable journey — from being born in a small Austrian village to becoming a titan of the big screen, he is the living embodiment of what truly fits the word ‘icon.’ His accomplishments in the world of bodybuilding are so phenomenal that he remains one of the greatest inspirations for fitness enthusiasts globally.
Thanks to his numerous box office successes and real estate acumen, Schwarzenegger is one of the richest actors in Hollywood with a net worth that is upwards of USD 450 million.
Interestingly, Schwarzenegger never played a lead role in a scripted television series in the five decades of his career. All he did were cameo roles or appear as himself in documentaries. It was only in 2021 that he voiced the main role of Arnold Armstrong/Captain Fantastic in the animated series Superhero Kindergarten.
However, with Fubar, Schwarzenegger turned his focus to entertaining audiences in a live-action series on the small screen. He headlines the action-comedy Netflix series in which he plays an aged CIA operative who is unaware that his daughter is also a CIA operative.
His big screen appearances, on the other hand, are legendary. After making his debut with the film Hercules in New York (1970), he earned his breakthrough with Conan the Barbarian (1982). Then came Terminator (1984) and ‘Arnold’ became a household name.
Besides the Terminator film franchise and his other critical or commercial successes, Schwarzenegger has also appeared in Kindergarten Cop (1990), Batman & Robin (1997), The 6th Day (2000), Collateral Damage (2002), The Expendables franchise (2010-2014), The Last Stand (2013) and Escape Plan (2013), among others.
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10 best Arnold Schwarzenegger movies that you’ll be back for
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Directed by: James Cameron
Release date: 26 October 1984
Cast: Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
RT rating: 100 per cent
Duration: 1 hour and 47 minutes
Synopsis: A cyborg assassin known as Terminator (Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to 1984 from 2029 to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton), who would be the mother of the future leader of a resistance movement against machines. Trying to stop him is Kyle Reese (Biehn), who has been sent from the same year to protect Sarah.
More about the film: The Terminator is credited as having skyrocketed the careers of both Schwarzenegger and Cameron. Schwarzenegger delivers his most famous line, “I’ll be back,” in this film.
Image credit: IMDb
Directed by: James Cameron
Release date: 3 July 1991
Cast: Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
RT rating: 91 per cent
Duration: 2 hours and 17 minutes
Synopsis: A reprogrammed T-800 Terminator (Schwarzenegger) arrives 11 years after the events of The Terminator to protect a young John Connor (Furlong) and his mother, Sarah (Hamilton), from T-1000 (Patrick), a new kind of Terminator whose liquid metal body allows him to take anyone’s form.
More about the film: Many consider the sequel better than the original in every department. It won four Academy Awards — makeup, visual effects, sound and sound effects editing — of more than 37 wins across ceremonies. Made on a budget of USD 102 million, Terminator 2: Judgment Day earned USD 520 million to become the highest-grossing movie of 1991 as well as the highest-grossing movie in Schwarzenegger’s career.
Image credit: IMDb
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
Release date: 1 June 1990
Cast: Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox
RT rating: 82 per cent
Duration: 1 hour and 53 minutes
Synopsis: In 2084, construction worker Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger) is implanted with false memories on Earth. But the process awakens his suppressed memories, which are real. He then travels to Mars to defeat the dictator on the Red Planet who is responsible for his predicament.
More about the film: Universally hailed as one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, it was remade in 2012 with the same title but with a new cast — Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel.
Image credit: © 1990 Columbia/TriStar Pictures/IMDb
Directed by: John McTiernan
Release date: 12 June 1987
Cast: Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Kevin Peter Hall
RT rating: 80 per cent
Duration: 1 hour and 47 minutes
Synopsis: A crack team of commandos led by a mercenary named Dutch (Schwarzenegger) is tasked with a rescue mission deep in the jungles of Guatemala. The mission takes a dangerous turn for them when a powerful extraterrestrial warrior hiding in the jungles starts hunting them down.
More about the film: The first film of the acclaimed franchise of the same name, Predator is hailed by several critics as one of the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movies to watch due to its outstanding action sequences, the depiction of the Predator character, and the visual effects.
Image credit: © 1987 Twentieth Century Fox. All Rights Reserved./IMDb
Directed by: Tim Miller
Release date: 1 November 2019
Cast: Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta
RT rating: 70 per cent
Duration: 2 hours and 8 minutes
Synopsis: A modified liquid Terminator (Luna) arrives from the future to kill factory worker Dani Ramos (Reyes) in Mexico City. Grace (Davis), an augmented soldier from the future, arrives to protect her. They find help from Sarah Connor (Hamilton) and the T-800 Terminator (Schwarzenegger) who killed Connor’s son years ago.
More about the film: Terminator: Dark Fate is a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and completely ignores the events of the three Terminator films released in between. Though it received somewhat positive reviews from critics, it was one of the biggest box office bombs in history. Made on a budget of USD 185 million, it managed only USD 261 million worldwide.
Image credit: Kerry Brown/Kerry Brown – © 2018 SKYDANCE PRODUCTIONS AND PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED./IMDb
Directed by: James Cameron
Release date: 15 July 1994
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Art Malik, Tia Carrere
RT rating: 70 per cent
Duration: 2 hours and 21 minutes
Synopsis: Harry Tasker (Schwarzenegger) is a spy who keeps his real job a secret from his family who believe him to be a salesman. When he finds out that his wife, Helen (Curtis), is bored with her mundane life, he stages a mock spy mission for her. But things go wrong, and they are kidnapped by a terrorist group which intends to trigger a nuclear explosion.
More about the film: True Lies holds the Guinness World Record for being the first film with a budget of over USD 100 million. It proved to be a success with both critics and fans, earning USD 378 million worldwide. For her performance, Curtis won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the Saturn Award for Best Actress.
Image credit: IMDb
Directed by: Walter Hill
Release date: 17 June 1988
Cast: Jim Belushi, Ed O’Ross
RT rating: 68 per cent
Duration: 1 hour and 44 minutes
Synopsis: Ivan Danko (Schwarzenegger) is a tough Soviet cop who arrives in Chicago to capture a Georgian drug lord Viktor Rostavili (O’Ross). To do so, he is forced to partner with local cop Art Ridzik (Belushi), whose working style is not the same as Danko’s.
Image credit: © 1988 Carolco Pictures. All rights reserved./IMDb
Directed by: Mark L. Lester
Release date: 4 October 1985
Cast: Alyssa Milano, Rae Dawn Chong, Vernon Wells, Dan Hedaya
RT rating: 67 per cent
Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Synopsis: John Matrix (Schwarzenegger) is a retired Special Forces soldier who lives a secluded life with his young daughter Jenny (Milano). When Jenny is kidnapped by former Latin American dictator Arius (Hedaya) and Matrix’s former subordinate Bennett (Wells), he sets out on a mission to rescue his daughter with the aid of a flight-attendant Cindy (Chong).
Image credit: © 1985 – 20th Century Fox. All rights reserved./IMDb
Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Release date: 9 December 1988
Cast: Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett
RT rating: 42 per cent
Duration: 1 hour and 47 minutes
Synopsis: Julius (Schwarzenegger) and Vincent (DeVito) are far from similar, but they are fraternal twins separated at birth. When Julius, who is naïve but strong, learns that he has a brother, he goes in search of him in Los Angeles, not knowing that Vincent is a womaniser and small-time crook.
More about the film: Twins was not received well by critics, but is one of Schwarzenegger’s most financially successful films to date. Made on a shoestring budget of only USD 15 million, it grossed more than 216 million worldwide. Schwarzenegger and DeVito agreed to take a share in profits instead of salaries for the film, which resulted in both actors receiving the biggest paychecks in their respective careers.
Image credit: IMDb
Directed by: Charles Russell
Release date: 21 June 1996
Cast: Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli
RT rating: 42 per cent
Duration: 1 hour and 55 minutes
Synopsis: John Kruger (Schwarzenegger) is a member of the US Marshall Witness Protection. When he is tasked with protecting whistleblower Lee Cullen (Williams) in a major arms dealing case, he realises that his own comrades are his greatest threat.
More about the film: Eraser was panned by critics upon release but did well at the box office, especially in Southeast Asian countries. Its total worldwide gross was just over USD 200 million. It was Warner Bros.’ best movie opening in Malaysia for six years till Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) surpassed it.
Image credit: © 1996 WARNER BROS. PICTURES A TIME WARNER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY/IMDb
(Hero image credit: © 1990 Columbia/TriStar Pictures/IMDb; Featured image credit: Kerry Brown/Kerry Brown – © 2018 SKYDANCE PRODUCTIONS AND PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED./IMDb)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
'The Terminator' and its sequel 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' are hailed as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best movies.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is famous for his action films, many of which did well at the box office, as well as his achievements in bodybuilding. He is also popular for his political career.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for movies such as 'The Terminator' franchise, 'The Expendables' franchise, 'Conan the Barbarian,' 'Total Recall.' 'Twins' and 'Eraser'.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biggest movie by critics ratings is 'The Terminator' (1984). His highest-grossing film is 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991).
