The best roles of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career (2024)

Warner Bros.

Batman & Robin (1997) is a bad movie, and Arnold's role as Mr. Freeze is part of problem. That said, it's actually a case of being so poor that there's some attraction to watch. His puns are slightly above awful, but compared to performances by George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell as our heroes, Schwarzeneggeris tolerable as the molecular biologist. Due to an accident, he must wear a sub-zero, diamond-powered suit to survive. Let's give Arnold credit for the fact he still allows his name to be associated with this film.

Universal Pictures; Buena Vista International

When it came to movie success for Schwarzenegger during the 1990s, it was rather hit or miss. End of Days (1999) might be somewhere in between, even though it was not praised by critics. Still, Arnold's Det. Cane is arguably the best reason to watch the film with a rather far-out concept. At the very least, he tries to lend some believability to the picture.

TriStar Pictures; Carolco Pictures

Underrated seems the appropriate word to describe Arnold's role in this 1988 mismatched buddy cop film, opposite Jim Belushi. He's a former Russian soldier, strong-willed, and sent to America to bring back a felon from home. Schwarzenegger plays the straight man, all-business part pretty well. He's able to tolerate the goofiness displayed by Belushi's Det. Sgt. Art Ridzik. Yes, it's a relatively forgotten role within Arnold's overall body of work, but not because of his performance.

Sony Pictures; Columbia Pictures

The concept of essentially parodying himself is what's best about Last Action Hero (1993), a fantasy-action film that didn't live up to the hype of making fun of the action-thriller genre like it had hoped. Schwarzenegger's Jack Slater is a Los Angeles detective of a popular film series, and suddenly, he finds himself with a young fan (Austin O'Brien) transported into his fictional world of crime and danger. Regardless of the lukewarm reception, if anybody was going to play this type of part, it was Arnold.

Warner Bros.

In 1996, Schwarzenegger was among Hollywood's elite and drawing all kinds of roles. However, he always felt at home in an action thriller where his life is on the line at almost every turn. That's the case with another box-office hit in Eraser. As a United States Marshal tasked with protecting a government witness, only to end up fighting former friends in the process, Arnold is what we come to expect from these roles. Just cheat death, throw out some witty one-liners, and keep us entertained.

Open Road Films; Universal Pictures

From 2014, this is one of Schwarzenegger's most recent roles. Though he doesn't sport a great haircut, an up-in-age Arnold plays a DEA special ops leader who becomes part of the hunted after money goes missing following a cartel raid. The critical consensus is that Schwarzenegger is really the best thing about a movie that tries to rely on a rather over-indulging amount of unnecessary violence to tell the story.

Lionsgate Entertainment; Summit Entertainment

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone together in leading roles on the same screen for an action thriller.Does it get much better? Even if it's 2013 and age is catching up with these two Hollywood action giants? Yes, if only this was made 20 years earlier, but still, the pair teaming up to break out of the world's most secure prison is enough to keep a viewer's interest. That's if we're not really expecting too much from these action-film legends at that point in their careers.

Universal Studios

Before Escape Plan, Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were part of 2010's The Expendables. However, Arnold's presence was in a cameo role. Two years later, though, he was part of the main cast for this sequel. Returning as the cigar-chomping Trench Mauser, he plays the rival of Stallone's mercenary group-leader Barney Ross. Trench also befriends Ross at times, which makes for some entertaining moments between the two legends. Arnold also appeared in The Expendables 3 (2014).

United Artists

It's likely most Schwarzenegger fans don't realize the only Golden Globe victory he achieved came for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture in this 1976 comedy-drama starring Jeff Bridges. The only problem? This was actually the third movie Schwarzenegger had appeared. His actual debut came as Hercules in 1970's Hercules in New York.However, Arnold is pretty entertaining while going out on limb (sarcasm alert) in Stay Hungry, playing an Austrian bodybuilder harboring Mr. Universe dreams.

Sony Pictures; Columbia Pictures; HBO; TriStar Pictures

From 1982-87, Schwarzenegger was one of the go-to actors when it came to motion picture action films. One of his more underrated roles came in 1987's Running Man. In this dystopian-era action thriller, Arnold's Ben Richards is a cop who ends up taking part in a popular game show The Running Man, where criminals literally run for their lives from mercenaries ready to kill them within a police-state rule. The picture received mixed reviews, but Schwarzenegger's performance should be lauded.

Universal Pictures

This is the first film collaboration between Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito that we'll highlight. Sure, the premise of Arnold becoming pregnant while testing a fertility drug he invented along with colleague Dr. Larry Arbogast (DeVito) is quite far-fetched. But, by 1994, fans would see Schwarzenegger in just about anything. However, there is still something charming about the movie, and Arnold was good enough to earn a Golden Globe nomination.

Universal Pictures

The 1990s had dawned, and Schwarzenegger was part of Hollywood's elite. So, why not make a comedy where a massively built, tough-as-nails detective goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to take down a drug dealer before he can get to his own wife and kid? At the time, the notion of Arnold in such a role seemed ridiculous. But the movie made more than $200 million internationally, and impressions of Schwarzenegger shouting "it's not a tumor" in his Austrian accent were running rampant

Carolco Pictures; TriStar Pictures

If there's one Schwarzenegger picture that truly made audiences think, it's 1990's Total Recall. Though reviews were mixed for the highly anticipated film, it's actually one that ages quite well with a cult-like following. Schwarzenegger's Quaid is an everyman construction worker who finds his mind altered through memory implantation with a Martian backdrop. There's plenty of action and intrigue when it comes to this sci-fi thriller, which also has viewers wondering until the end whether it's real or fantasy.

Universal Studios

Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito first came together for this 1988 Ivan Reitman comedy hit. The duo play fraternal twins who were separated at birth but reunited as adults. DeVito's Vincent is street smart but a bit shifty. Meanwhile, Arnold's Julius is smart from an academic standpoint, but he's naive when it comes to the ways of the world. Their seemingly apples-to-oranges relationship is a fine source of comedy, but there are plenty of endearing qualities that made the movie a commercial hit.

Twentieth Century Fox

While co-star Jamie Lee Curtis won a Golden Globe for her memorable performance as Harry's wife Helen in the 1994 James Cameron smash, Schwarzeneggeris nearly as good in his role asgovernment agentwho leads a double life as a spy and family man. Sure, the action is what's most memorable from this action thriller. Remember Curtis and Schwarzenegger hanging from a helicopter? But the relationship between Harry and Helen is an underrated element of the movie that was a big reason it made more than $375 million worldwide.

Twentieth Century Fox

By 1985, Schwarzenegger was a popular action star, and fans eagerly awaited for Commandoto come out. The movie began a trend of Arnold playing similar roles, usually ex-military then either being sent on a mission or undertaking one. In Commando, he tries to rescue his young daughter (Alyssa Milano), who was kidnapped. Not to mention, he was trying to avenge the deaths of his old military strike force. American moviegoers couldn't get enough of this stuff, and Arnold was more than willing to deliver.

Twentieth Century Fox

While Predatorgrew into a franchise of films, Schwarzenegger was there for the just the original 1987 — and best — installment. A Vietnam War veteran and leader of a highly respected and resourceful paramilitaryrescue team, Dutch eventually finds himself in the jungle taking on a chameleon-like alien creature that just wiped out his entire team. It's classic '80s action Arnold, filled with plenty of shooting, destruction, and cheesy one-liners ("stick around").

Universal Studios

Schwarzenegger's acting career was on the rise in the early 1980s, but 1982's Conan the Barbarianproved that he was ready to handle the responsibility of being a leading action star. Arnold was quite menacing as the barbarian warrior determined to seek revenge for those responsible for his parents' death. The film remains a cult classic, and while the sequel Conan the Destroyer(1984), didn't generate the same success, the role is still a defining moment to Schwarzenegger's acting career.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

If Conan essentially made Schwarzenegger a serious Hollywood talent, The Terminator turned him into an international action superstar. The seemingly unstoppable cybernetic killing machine thrown back in time to kill the woman who will give back to the world's savior earned Schwarzenegger icon status almost immediately upon the film's 1984 release. Arnold is simply terrifying as the bad guy, which gave us his memorable line "I'll be back" and opened the door for a seemingly endless franchise of films.

Carolco Pictures; TriStar Pictures

What's better than Arnold reprising his role as a Terminator? Playing a Terminator that's actually the good guy. As the updated "T-800" series, the Terminator looks the same as the original in this long-awaited, massively successful sequel from 1991. However, he learns, thanks to a young John Connor (Edward Furlong), about human emotions and that killing is not the answer when protecting the youth. While the action still reigns supreme, the Terminator's protective, newly developed and sacrificial side, is what makes this iconic character even better.