While he may lack the extensive critical acclaim of some of his contemporaries, I would
make the argument any day of the week that Arnold Schwarzenegger deserves to be
recognised alongside others in the great pantheon of actors. Born to humble
beginnings in the farming village of Thal, Austria, Arnold would conquer the
world of bodybuilding before taking on the challenge of establishing himself as
a leading man. Breaking through the language barrier and playing to qualities
that were uniquely his own, he starred as the lead in films throughout the 1980s
and 1990s such as Conan The Barbarian, The Terminator, Commando, Predator,
Twins, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lie and
Junior. At one point the highest paid actor in Hollywood (in 2003, for
Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, he received a whopping $29.25 million
salary, plus 20% of the film’s profits), Schwarzenegger wowed us, entertained
us, frightened us, made us laugh and even made us cry. In the process, he became one
of the few truly transcendent and international cultural icons of our time.
No comments:
Post a Comment