- Robert Pius, Zach Laws, Chris Beachum
- Film
NBC
During the long career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, he has had an unusually varied group of job choices in sports, the entertainment industry and most recently in politics.
He first came to international attention as a bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests numerous times. He became the face of the then new sport of bodybuilding and that brought him to the attention of the entertainment industry. His first film was a low budget film called “Hercules in New York” for which he was mostly used for his physique. Due to his heavy accent his dialogue had to be dubbed by another actor. His notoriety increased with the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” which made him a familiar face to American audiences.
His second foray into films was more successful. For his supporting role in the film “Stay Hungry,” he earned a Golden Globe Award as Best Film Debut for a male actor. A number of years later though he found his real niche in films as an action hero when he starred in the film “Conan, The Barbarian” and then his career was really kicked into high gear with his appearance in the surprise hit “The Terminator” which also established director James Cameron as a major filmmaker.
Schwarzenegger continued his career in films for many years doing both action films and branching out into comedy. His film career would come to a brief and surprising halt when the actor decided to run for governor of California and won. His years in political office would take him away from acting for a number of years but he started making films again once he left office.
Tour our photo gallery of his 15 greatest film performances, ranked worst to best. Our list includes the movies mentioned plus “True Lies,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “Twins” and more.
15. ERASER (1996)
Director: Chuck Russell. Writers: Tony Puryear, Walon Green. Starring James Caan, Vanessa Williams, James Coburn.
“Eraser” is an espionage thriller that casts Schwarzenegger as a federal agent who “erases” people. That means people who are testifying in potentially dangerous court cases who need to be hidden from public view. The film was notable for kicking the acting career of Vanessa Williams into high gear. Williams had struggled for over a decade to establish herself after having been dethroned as Miss America after a nude photo scandal.
14. JINGLE ALL THE WAY (1996)
Director: Brian Levant. Writer: Randy Kornfield. Starring Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson.
Schwarzenegger plays a devoted father who promises to get his son a certain toy for Christmas and then has to go to elaborate lengths to find the highly sought-after item. The film became a running gag on Conan O’Brien’s old late-night show with an overzealous Schwarzenegger impersonator constantly appearing to promote the film years after its release.
13. BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
Director: Joel Schumacher. Writer: Akiva Goldsman. Starring George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman.
Tim Burton revived interest in Batman films with his films “Batman” and “Batman Returns” starring Michael Keaton in the title role. Those highly successful films were followed by two films from director Joel Schumacher. The first entitled “Batman Forever” cast Val Kilmer in the lead. This film had George Clooney as Batman and Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze. This was the least acclaimed of the Batman films and would end the series until Christopher Nolan would revive them years later.
12. PUMPING IRON (1977)
Director: George Butler, Robert Fiore. Starring Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbu.
This docudrama that is part scripted and part reality was really the film that launched Schwarzenegger into the public consciousness. The film documents his quest to defend his Mr. Olympia bodybuilding title from among others a young new body builder named Lou Ferrigno, who would go on to TV stardom himself as the title character in “The Incredible Hulk.”
11. COMMANDO (1985)
Director: Mark L. Lester. Writer: Steven E. de Souza. Starring Rae Dawn Chong, Alyssa Milano, James Olson.
Schwarzenegger plays a retired military colonel in this somewhat standard action film. It didn’t really break new ground for the genre but was a pleasant diversion for action fans. Schwarzenegger spends the film trying to save his kidnapped daughter who is played by child actress Alyssa Milano who has more recently become known as a political activist.
10. JUNIOR (1994)
Director: Ivan Reitman. Writers: Kevin Wade, Chris Conrad. Starring Danny DeVito, Emma Thompson, Frank Langella.
This film features Schwarzenegger as a fertility expert who becomes the first male to become pregnant. The logistics of that whole occurrence make for incredible silliness. The oddest thing about the film is the presence of Emma Thompson in the cast. She had been a double Oscar nominee the year before for “The Remains of the Day” as Best Actress and “In the Name of the Father” as Best Supporting Actress and yet chose this for a follow-up. She must have needed a laugh.
9. PREDATOR (1987)
Director: John McTiernan. Writers: Jim Thomas, John Thomas. Starring Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke.
Shortly after “Aliens” became a huge summer blockbuster blending action and science fiction came “Predator,” Schwarzenegger’s entry in the genre. He once again plays a military officer on a mission. This one though is sidelined by an alien creature’s attacks. The film led to numerous sequels and spinoffs.
8. STAY HUNGRY (1976)
Director: Bob Rafelson. Writers: Charles Gaines, Bob Rafelson. Starring Jeff Bridges, Sally Field, R.G. Armstrong.
“Stay Hungry” stars Jeff Bridges as a young businessman who tries to become familiar with a gym for a shady business deal but ends up falling in love with the gym and its clientele. Schwarzenegger plays a bodybuilder who works out at the place. He won the Golden Globe for Best Acting Debut beating a unique set of nominees including author Truman Capote in “Murder by Death” and the young boy who played Damien in “The Omen.” The film is also notable as Sally Field’s second film appearance and first leading lady role.
7. TWINS (1988)
Director: Ivan Reitman. Writers: William Davies, William Osborne, Timothy Harris, Herschel Weingrod. Starring Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb.
“Twins” was kind of a poster that then went looking for a plot. The obvious sight gag of having Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito play twins carried the movie a long way. He plays the more innocent of the brothers who goes looking for his twin and finds the sleazy fast-talking DeVito.
6. KINDERGARTEN COP (1990)
Director: Ivan Reitman. Writers: Murray Salem, Herschel Weingrod, Timothy Harris. Starring Penelope Ann Miller, Linda Hunt, Pamela Reed.
The title of this one is pretty self-explanatory. Schwarzenegger plays a cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher in order to locate a key witness in a case. The plot of the film is really rather irrelevant since the big draw is his often strained interaction with his five-year-old co-stars.
5. TOTAL RECALL (1990)
Director: Paul Verhoeven. Writers: Ronald Shusett, Dan O’Bannon, Gary Goldman. Starring Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox.
“Total Recall” is a fantastical visual feast from Verhoeven of “Robocop” and “Basic Instinct” fame. The film received an honorary Oscar for its visual effects but did draw some protests over its high content of violence. The film places its star in the center of a journey to another planet where he is unable to tell what is real and what is false recall. Sharon Stone, who had been kicking around in small films for a long time, finally found a star making turn in this film, one that would also lead to her mega-star turn in “Basic Instinct.”
4. TRUE LIES (1994)
Director and writer: James Cameron. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton.
“True Lies” is an action-packed comedy from director James Cameron. Schwarzenegger stars as a fearless terrorist fighter who finds his biggest challenge when he starts to suspect his wife is having an affair with a sleazy used car salesman. Jamie Lee Curtis won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical Actress as the wrongly suspected wife. The film features a fantastic stunt sequence with Curtis dangling from a helicopter as Schwarzenegger tries to rescue her.
3. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991)
Director: James Cameron. Writer: James Cameron, William Wisher. Starring Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick.
Schwarzenegger reprised his role as the terminator in this much more elaborate sequel to the original film. This time he is cast as a “good” terminator who is sent back in time to save the son of the woman he was trying to kill in the original version of the story. The film won four Oscars for its groundbreaking special effects.
2. CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1981)
Director: John Milius. Writers: John Milius, Oliver Stone. Starring James Earl Jones, Max Von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman.
Despite his award-winning performance in “Stay Hungry” Schwarzenegger found a difficult time finding work in films until this adaptation of the comic book came along. Made in a time when comic book adaptations were not a common thing the film was a perfect fit for Schwarzenegger. He plays a man trying to avenge the death of his parents.
1. THE TERMINATOR (1984)
Director: James Cameron. Writers: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd. Starring Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield.
This surprise sleeper hit of 1984 spawned a series of films and gave Schwarzenegger a signature role. He has very little dialogue in the film but one of his lines “I’ll be back” became a classic movie quote. The film centers on a cyborg creature sent back in time to kill a woman who is pregnant with a child who will grow up to become the leader of humans in a battle between man and machines in the future.
