"They wanted to cast me as a bouncer"- When Arnold Schwarzenegger made his feelings clear about his German accent

Actor, businessman, former politician, and bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been in the industry for decades. He has delivered some of the most iconic gems that fans will remember as they will live on forever in the history of Hollywood.

However, for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the path to everlasting stardom wasn't an easy one. He had to win over Hollywood despite some early challenges, including his accent. He discussed this in an interview with Empire Magazine in 2012, where he expressed his desire to play the leading man. He also revealed how Hollywood saw him in a completely different light and wanted him to play other roles.

He elaborated on how his accent, being very German, made it a scary affair for the US moviegoers, which caused issues for him in his career. Speaking about this accent trouble, Schwarzenegger said:

"I wanted to be a leading man. But it was not just that I had an accent, it was a German accent and in America that accent was scary. In tests, 60 per cent of people said, ‘This guy scares the sh*t out of me when he talks!’ They wanted to cast me as a bouncer or a Nazi officer."

He added that Hollywood was "like that," noting that they didn't "get very creative," and didn't want to "go against the obvious or try to go another way."

"Except when you become a star — then they would do whatever you demand," the actor said.

Of course, Schwarzenegger rose above these challenges and eventually managed to get himself important roles and awards. These ultimately cemented his name in the history books of Hollywood. He also spoke about his journey from dreaming big in Austria to making it big in Hollywood with his first movie, Hercules in New York.

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"I was not at all prepared for that"- Arnold Schwarzenegger on playing Hercules in his first-ever role

It is quite evident why Arnold Schwarzenegger would be picked for the role of Hercules. But at the time it happened, Schwarzenegger had dreamed big but had not prepared much for a career in acting. Sure, he was at the top of the bodybuilding game, but he was far from becoming the talented actor he is today.

But it was a stroke of fate for the Austrian native, who admitted to dreaming big from the very start of his life when a call came into the Venice Beach gym (where Schwarzenegger trained) looking for someone to play Hercules. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke about this experience, saying:

"I was not at all prepared for that...I mean, I had never taken an acting class at this point; I started taking them a month before shooting. It was hard trying to figure out the script — I didn’t even understand what the lines meant! I had someone translate it for me and help me with my English, with the dialect. It was kind of a crash course."

He was credited as Arnold Strong in the movie, and his voice was overdubbed to minimize the accent. This was not the greatest of films to start with, something the former governor also admitted, but this opened the doors for him, and they stayed open for the years to come.

In a decorated career that few others would match, Arnold Schwarzenegger has appeared in over 40 films. He also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture and has been nominated for several other accolades.

Currently 77, he is soon set to appear in Kung Fury 2 and The Man with the Bag, both of which are currently in production.