“If we wouldn’t have Schwarzenegger, we would have to build one” – John Milius, director of Conan the Barbarian
Schwarzenegger was not a good actor in the tradition sense of the word, but he was exactly what the industry needed at the time. A manly, larger than life looking tough guy who can lead action movies, unironically pull off a leather jacket and sunglasses, and deliver corny one liners with a straight face.
Fuck yeah!
For his first ever role in Hercules in New York (1970), he did not even do his own dialogue. His English was so bad, they used a different actor to dub him
. They needed him for his body and screen presence, not for his speaking and acting skills.
He basically started off as a stage prop.
That’s not to say he was a bad actor. He was a decent lead and even had more range than most gave him credit for at the start. Many were skeptical when he decided to branch out into comedy, but he ended up leading those to the top of the box office with the same unstoppable momentum as his action flicks. Because everything Arnold touches turns to gold.
Not because he was a great actor in the way someone like Kevin Spacey is, but because he knew how to use his particular set of skills to give the audience what they want.
He was the right person at the right time.
And it was glorious.