Arnold Schwarzenegger says ‘The Terminator’ changed his career.
The 72-year-old bodybuilder turned actor – who starred in five out of six ‘Terminator’ movies – believes the 1984 original film launched his career into action movies.
Arnold’s breakthrough role as the muscular warrior ‘Conan the Barbarian’ in 1982 earned him worldwide recognition, but the Austrian-American actor had bigger plans.
Talking to Hey U Guys, Arnie explained: "Terminator to me is more than just a movie.
"It’s kind of like something that built my career because when I think about when I came from the ‘Conan the Barbarian’ kind of movies, the question was, can I go and do something that does not rely totally on the physical development and this ‘Mr. Universe’ physique type of thing, and so ‘Terminator’ came along and there was only, in the beginning of the movie was this, you know, the arrival scene where I was naked but the rest if the movie was always with clothes on and stuff like that, and that really turned my career around and made me be able to then get all of those kind of action movies.
"So it was really important in that regard that it really launched my action career in the eighties."
Meanwhile, Arnold admitted that his initial ambition behind switching to acting was to become rich and famous.
And according to the action star, the money-spinning ‘Terminator’ franchise has helped to achieve his goals.
He shared: "’Terminator’ became one of Time magazine’s top ten movies of the year. It was amazing, especially for what they felt was a cheap B-movie.
"So I really could chase my goal of being the highest-paid entertainer in the world."
However, Arnold’s eye-watering earnings slowed in 2003, when he became Governor of California.
The move into politics – which resulted in the star missing in ‘Terminator Salvation’ – dramatically reduced his income, but the star doesn’t have any regrets.
He explained: "When I became governor, I sacrificed having any income because I didn’t do any movies for seven years.
"I had made $20 million a movie and made two movies a year. But I didn’t mind that. It was more important to be governor."
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Terminator launched my career
