Is Arnold Schwarzenegger underestimated as an actor?

He's a great action movie star (the best ever?), but by no means a great actor.

He was born to play Conan.
 
As Dylan Moran said, Arnie got where he is today basically by lifting things.

Regards

Mark
 
Not the greatest of actors but has amazing comic timing and chooses roles which suit him. I think he's great in most films I have seen him in.
 
Very much so

We all know about T1 and T2 of course. Then there is Predator

But he has so much versatility and depth. True Lies, The 6th Day, Kindergarten Cop, Total Recall, Jingle All The Way, Twins, Eraser and Collateral Damage

So many good films

It was said in another thread the mark of a good actor is that he does not impose his own personality on a role. Look no further than Kindergarten Cop :D
 
Arnie will always be Arnie in all his films,he's just that type of actor that can't get away from being type cast as some muscle bound head!

I don't think he is underestimated either,you only have to look as far as Terminator films where he only had a few lines to say.I think what makes the whole Arnold thing so unique is his deep rich AUSTRIAN

ACCENT,which is his trademark along with his one liners.

But :lease: let's not let the Terminator fool you into saying that he can really act,a good action man yes with great screen presence however anything beyond that is doing a disservice to many other great action men out there that can really act like Sly Stallone or Willis.:smashin:
 
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however anything beyond that is doing a disservice to many other great action men out there that can really act like Sly Stallone

:rotfl::rotfl::confused::confused::rotfl::rotfl:

Please tell me this line was a joke:confused::confused::confused::lease:?

As has been said Arnie was great in roles that suited him. Stallone is not a good actor in the slightest. Whilst I have enjoyed a lot of the films he has been in and respect the fact that he has been a major factor in getting them to the screen in terms of ideas/writing etc, he can't be described as an action hero that can act. I agree with you on Willis but put Stallone in Unbreakable or The 6th Sense and I somewhat doubt you will see a similar standard of performance that we got from Willis. Even the Die Hard films would have to be very differen't with Stallone as the lead.
 
:rotfl::rotfl::confused::confused::rotfl::rotfl:

Please tell me this line was a joke:confused::confused::confused::lease:?

As has been said Arnie was great in roles that suited him. Stallone is not a good actor in the slightest. Whilst I have enjoyed a lot of the films he has been in and respect the fact that he has been a major factor in getting them to the screen in terms of ideas/writing etc, he can't be described as an action hero that can act. I agree with you on Willis but put Stallone in Unbreakable or The 6th Sense and I somewhat doubt you will see a similar standard of performance that we got from Willis. Even the Die Hard films would have to be very differen't with Stallone as the lead.
You say Stallone isn't a good actor in the slightest,what about in the original Rocky film and Copland,well you might not of seen them.It's all about a matter of opinion and you never hear the critics raving about Arnie's acting abilities,i'm not a player hater of the Austrian Oak but he's not underestimated,more like over rated:devil:
 
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I've seen those films. I don't think they were amazing performances that couldn't have been done by someone else. Stallone pretty much seems to just be himself in every film, he struggles to convey any emotion in his parts for me. If you take those 2 roles on their own then you could say they are solid acting performances. But having seen most of his films you realise that he plays pretty much the same part in every film he's ever done, there is no variation. I really like a lot of his films but I wouldn't say he's a great actor. I haven't said Arnie is a great actor either but I think him as the Terminator stood out for me as a performance over anything Stallone has done personally, there isn't anyone out there that could have played the Terminator role better IMO. Again I appreciate the role was ideal for Arnie but he has shown himself to be a little more versatile than Stallone for me. He was slightly more believable in his comedy endevours than Stallone was for example.
 
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I've seen those films. I don't think they were amazing performances that couldn't have been done by someone else. Stallone pretty much seems to just be himself in every film, he struggles to convey any emotion in his parts for me. If you take those 2 roles on their own then you could say they are solid acting performances. But having seen most of his films you realise that he plays pretty much the same part in every film he's ever done, there is no variation. I really like a lot of his films but I wouldn't say he's a great actor. I haven't said Arnie is a great actor either but I think him as the Terminator stood out for me as a performance over anything Stallone has done personally, there isn't anyone out there that could have played the Terminator role better IMO. Again I appreciate the role was ideal for Arnie but he has shown himself to be a little more versatile than Stallone for me. He was slightly more believable in his comedy endevours than Stallone was for example.
This debate should of been Sly V Arnie,ok how many actors could of played Rocky,this was a role created by Sly himself and nobody could of shared the same vision or passion he had for that role.Stallone was the original action man,he was a pioneer someone ahead of his time,he paved the way for others like Arnie and Willis.There was Rambo before Arnie's "Commando" and "Predator"...In the words of Rocky Balboa "Yo Adrian I Did It".He did do it and still is the number 1 heavyweight action man of his GENRE:hiya:
 
This debate should of been Sly V Arnie,ok how many actors could of played Rocky,this was a role created by Sly himself and nobody could of shared the same vision or passion he had for that role.Stallone was the original action man,he was a pioneer someone ahead of his time,he paved the way for others like Arnie and Willis.There was Rambo before Arnie's "Commando" and "Predator"...In the words of Rocky Balboa "Yo Adrian I Did It".He did do it and still is the number 1 heavyweight action man of his GENRE:hiya:

would be nice though if you could understand two words he said:D;)

surely this has to come into acting ability:cool: i.e. diction:rotfl:

obviously I am totally biased:devil:
 
would be nice though if you could understand two words he said:D;)

surely this has to come into acting ability:cool: i.e. diction:rotfl:

obviously I am totally biased:devil:
Let's face it they both have problems giving one liners and all you hear from Arnie is a deep thick European accent as bad as Sly's vocal ability?..well i'll let you answer that:confused:
 
Let's face it they both have problems giving one liners and all you hear from Arnie is a deep thick European accent as bad as Sly's vocal ability?..well i'll let you answer that:confused:

no I have to disagree with you there Arnie is a lot more legible to me when on screen than Sly Stallone will ever be no matter what film he acted in ....:)
 
no I have to disagree with you there Arnie is a lot more legible to me when on screen than Sly Stallone will ever be no matter what film he acted in ....:)
Hey i don't mind if you disagree with me:mad:i'm not Sly's agent it's just that when you hear a guy running at you and saying "Get Dan,Get Dan,Quick To Da Choppa!" You start to hear yourself laugh and trying to mimic his every line...
ASTALAVISTA BABY:hiya:
 
Hey i don't mind if you disagree with me:mad:i'm not Sly's agent it's just that when you hear a guy running at you and saying "Get Dan,Get Dan,Quick To Da Choppa!" You start to hear yourself laugh and trying to mimic his every line...
ASTALAVISTA BABY:hiya:

I guess I am not going to convince you except to say that both of these actors are a lot richer than you or me for their talent and that's a reality:thumbsup:
 
I guess I am not going to convince you except to say that both of these actors are a lot richer than you or me for their talent and that's a reality:thumbsup:
Yeah i'd agree on that point and you can be rich and not always happy:)
Talent without potential=0
Potential without talent=0
 
This debate should of been Sly V Arnie,ok how many actors could of played Rocky,this was a role created by Sly himself and nobody could of shared the same vision or passion he had for that role.Stallone was the original action man,he was a pioneer someone ahead of his time,he paved the way for others like Arnie and Willis.There was Rambo before Arnie's "Commando" and "Predator"...In the words of Rocky Balboa "Yo Adrian I Did It".He did do it and still is the number 1 heavyweight action man of his GENRE:hiya:

He's still not a great actor;):D.
 
Arnold has done it all - pro bodybuilder, Conan, The Terminator, a plethora of other 80's and 90's action films, he's the king of one-liners and the Guvner :thumbsup:

Stallone has Rocky and Rambo. He's a poor man's Arnie :)
 
Arnold has done it all - pro bodybuilder, Conan, The Terminator, a plethora of other 80's and 90's action films, he's the king of one-liners and the Guvner :thumbsup:

Stallone has Rocky and Rambo. He's a poor man's Arnie :)

now that's the truth:thumbsup:

btw don't think Sly ever starred in the same class of film as True Lies;)

keep telling you I am biased:devil::D
 
This is the only Arnie thread. So just wanted to say

Happy 62nd Birthday Arnie! :thumbsup:
 
Since I saw Arnie in an interview about Terminator, I have been asking myself... is he underestimated as an actor?

No.

He did great at showing no expressions at all...

Something he did time and time again.

AS was good at being 'the AS character'. I'm not convinced this makes him a great actor.

Steve W
 
The entertainment value of his '80s catalogue is underestimated, not his acting ability.
 
He barely was an actor, but he was the perfect movie star for the Reaganite, aspirational 80s.
 

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