The road to Hollywood isn’t easy for anyone, let alone an Austrian man who came to the US to fulfill his bodybuilding dreams. But Arnold Schwarzenegger trusted the right people in his life to eventually land his first major breakthrough role as ‘Hercules’ in ‘Hercules in New York’. The Austrian Oak had already won Mr. Olympia multiple times by then, and he was living the dream. But little did he know that his association with his mentor, Joe Weider, would change his life forever. A piece of funny advice from Weider during his first-ever movie interview also went a long way in getting the Austrian man started in the movie business. Here’s how.

Schwarzenegger visited the sets of Howard Stern’s radio show in 2015, where he talked about transitioning from bodybuilding to Hollywood. While he did dream of entering the movie industry, his main aim was always to uplift bodybuilding as a sport. Joe Weider was his biggest supporter of that cause.

Arnold Schwarzenegger took his mentor’s advice seriously to land his first role

Schwarzenegger told Howard Stern how Joe Weider convinced the filmmakers to offer him the role of Hercules in his first-ever film. Schwarzenegger recalled Weider’s words, “Arnold, they are casting Hercules, and I just told them that they should have to hire you. You’re the big new bodybuilding champion. You are 22 years old, they should get you.” Schwarzenegger continued telling Stern the story, “Then I went to an interview with him, and they gave me the part. I didn’t even have to read.”

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But how did the first interview go? And how did the then-up-and-coming bodybuilding star manage to impress the filmmakers? It was all courtesy of Joe Weider. Narrating the story to Stern, Schwarzenegger said, “Joe Weider 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’. He was telling them that I am a German Shakespearean actor. There is no such thing. What the h*ll is he talking about?” And the audience burst into laughter.

Weider’s clever ruse for his friend and pupil worked. Schwarzenegger had a heavy German accent and spoke very little English. This could’ve hindered his chances of making it as a leading man in movies. After all these years and numerous box-office blockbusters, Schwarzenegger still speaks with a distinctive accent. When talk show host Jimmy Kimmel asked him about it once, this was his response.

Schwarzenegger became a movie star despite his German accent

The Terminator star was at Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2019 to promote the latest addition to the franchise – Terminator: Dark Fate (2019). After the star failed to understand a word Kimmel said, due to the difference in accents, he made a light-hearted joke around it. Kimmel then asked him, “How is it possible that your accent has not subsided even the slightest?” This is when the actor pinned the blame on his good pal Sylvester Stallone, albeit humorously, and said, “Hanging out with Sly.” 

Schwarzenegger followed up his first film, ‘Hercules in New York,’ with ‘The Long Goodbye’, ‘Stay Hungry’, ‘The Villain’, etc. But the actor’s career-defining moment was with the 1982 epic, ‘Conan the Barbarian’. And The Austrian Oak has never looked back since.

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