There was a time when more than most stars and classic Hollywood legends were no match for the power to congregate the masses to cinemas like the action stars in the ’80s and ’90s did. And leading that illustrious group of individuals were actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who are considered to be icons of their era.
But as far as his influence stretched, Schwarzenegger was limited to it in many ways, which meant that his universal appeal was too. Thus, he was his own separate man and he knew it, which meant he also knew that he couldn’t compete with some stars in terms of their desirability. The stars in question here are none other than Hollywood legends Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Believed That He Couldn’t Compete Against Certified Hollywood Legends
While he may have been revered as one of, if not the biggest Hollywood action stars in history, Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s resume wasn’t just limited to his acting career. In fact, before he became a bonafide star in the film industry, he was the icon of the bodybuilding world. Therefore, he came in well-prepared in the aesthetics department.
But despite his physical and acting prowess, the star gave up on competing with the likes of Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, the immortal legends of cinema.
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In a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine, the Predator star talked about his rise to fame from the world of health and fitness to the heights of superstardom in cinema. Here, he addressed the fact that he knew that his appeal was different from the aforementioned stars when it came to popularity. Hoffman and Pacino were certified American icons with their appeal to the larger audience of Hollywood at the time.
While Schwarzenegger on the other hand was seen as someone larger than life and different from them in terms of his looks and accent, which helped him shine in the industry in his way. This led to him never competing for the aforementioned stars’ audiences. He said:
“More like a Clint Eastwood, because he was out of the ordinary. He created his own ladder and became the biggest star. I saw myself as that. There was no way for me to compete against an Al Pacino or a Dustin Hoffman because they were speaking perfect English. They played the all-American roles — those guys, fabulous.”
Thus, realizing his strengths early on, he concluded that he could never compete against more established stars in the business, which made him tread his own path, and the rest is history.
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What Made Arnold Schwarzenegger So Successful?
While he had his Greek God physique as well as his exotic accent going for him, these weren’t the only qualities that made him the man he is today.
The star was known to be a great negotiator when it came to working on projects and cracking brand deals with major companies all around the globe. Along with that, he had a certain charm to him, which stemmed from the sheer amount of confidence he possessed that seemed to just draw everyone to him. This, mixed with his talent for acting and showmanship is what made him one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
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