[Interview in “Starlog” magazine in 1991, explaining his reluctance to do sequels to most of his successful films from the ’80s] There’s so little time to do all the things I want to do that I can’t see any reason to get bogged down in sequels.

Everything I have ever done in my life has always stayed. I’ve just added to it . . . but I will not change. Because when you are successful and you change, you are an idiot.

I know that if you leave dishes in the sink, they get sticky and hard to wash the next day.

I would rather be Governor of California than own Austria.

I love the Hong Kong style of action movies, but that only looks good for small guys. The reason why the whole style was developed over there was because those guys were very puny guys – they’re not powerful-looking guys, they’re also not powerful guys. There’s no weightlifting champion coming out of Hong Kong – maybe in the bantam division or the lightweight division or something like that, but normally you don’t have really strong men coming out of there . . . they had to learn a technique that small people can do that are as effective as the big guy’s strength. So that’s where the martial arts came from.

In the beginning I was selfish. It was all about, “How do I build Arnold? How can I win the most Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympic contests? How can I get into the movies and get into business?” I was thinking about myself . . . As I’ve grown up, got older, maybe wiser, I think your life is judged not by how much you have taken but by how much you give back.

[during his campaign for California governor, about his history of “misbehavior”] Where I did make mistakes, or maybe go overboard sometimes . . . I regret that. This is a different Arnold.

[on his fight scenes with the female T-X in “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”] How many times do you get away with this – to take a woman, grab her upside down and bury her face in a toilet bowl? The thing is you can do it, because, in the end, I didn’t do it to a woman – she’s a machine. We could get away with it without being crucified by who knows what group.

[on his decision to run for governor of California] It was the most difficult decision in my life – except the one in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax.

[after being pelted with an egg at a political rally] This guy owes me bacon now . . . you can’t have egg without bacon.

[responding to criticism during a televised debate] I just realized I have the perfect part for you in “Terminator 4.”

[victory speech after having won election as Governor of California] I will not fail, I will not disappoint you, I will not let you down.

The worst I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that.

There’s a lot of people who want me to get out of acting and want me to run for governor. I think it’s mostly movie critics.

You have to remember something: Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn.

I took more abuse in “Predator” than I did in “Conan the Barbarian”. I fell down that waterfall [40 feet] and swam in this ice-cold water for days and for weeks was covered in mud. It was freezing in the Mexican jungle. They had these heat lamps on all the time, but they were no good. If you stayed in front of the lamps, the mud dried. Then, you had to take it off and put new mud on again. It was a no-win situation. The location was tough. Never on flat ground. Always on a hill. We stood all day long on a hill, one leg down, one leg up. It was terrible.

[referring to Democrats at a political rally in Ontario, California, in 2004] If they don’t have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, “I don’t want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers” . . . if they don’t have the guts, I call them girlie men.

[at the 2004 Republican National Convention] Speaking of acting, one of my movies was called “True Lies”. It’s what the Democrats should have called their convention.

President [George Bush] knows you can’t reason with people that are blinded by hate. But let me tell you something: Their hate is no match for our decency, their hate is no match for the leadership and the resolve of George Bush.

[Talking about his “Conan the Barbarian” director]: John Milius used to call himself the dog trainer. Guess who were the dogs?

[From an interview about his reaction to reading the original “The Terminator” screenplay] I have read a lot of action adventure scripts, and this definitely was one of the best. I knew that I wanted to play the part of the Terminator as soon as I started reading.

[About being taken seriously] I don’t care. The important thing to me is that I’m doing work that people enjoy out there, that the movie makes good money, that the studio makes the money back, and that I’m having a great time at what I’m doing. I don’t even consider myself serious. So how do I expect people to take me serious? I think this whole Hollywood thing has to be taken much looser . . . it’s just entertainment.

“There were various stepping-stones in my career. One of them was “Conan the Barbarian”, because it was the first time I did a film with that kind of budget and I had the title role. The next big stepping-stone was “The Terminator”. With “The Terminator”, I think people became aware of the fact that I didn’t really have to take my shirt off or run around and expose my muscles in order to sell tickets. After I did “The Terminator” and we had seen it be more successful than the Conan films, people then sent me a variety of different kinds of scripts – all in the action-adventure genre, but they were not muscle movies or Viking movies or pirate movies or anything like that.

[Talking about playing the Terminator] I had to act like a cyborg, which meant I couldn’t show any kind of human fear or reaction to the fire, explosions, or gunfire that was going off around me. That can be difficult when you’re walking through a door with its frame on fire, trying to reload a gun, and at the same time thinking in the back of your mind that people have accidents doing these kinds of stunts and that it might be my turn.

[About more sequels to “The Terminator”] I don’t necessarily want to leave the magic of the Terminator movies behind, and who says we have to? According to what we know about the future, there were hundreds of Terminators built. The story of the Terminator could go on forever.

[From an interview expressing concern over making “Conan the Destroyer” less brutal than its predecessor, “Conan the Barbarian”] I think it’s a mistake. I know Sylvester Stallone made an extra $20 million because he got a PG rating for “Rocky III”, but it’s a matter of how much you want to stay within the character’s reality. Can you slaughter people and never see blood? Is it possible? You must have battles. That’s part of life, war, and the world of Conan.

[Talking about director Richard Fleischer] The first day Fleischer came to see me work out, he told me, “Arnold, could you put on some more muscles?” I couldn’t believe it! It turned out that Fleischer thought [John Milius’] decision to keep Conan clothed throughout the first film was a mistake. Fleischer believes that people want to see my body much more often than they did the first time around, so they will. I spend most of my time in “Conan the Destroyer” fighting off people while I’m dressed in a loincloth.

[About the dog accident while making “Conan the Barbarian”] One of them hit me too soon. It caught me off guard and I went right over the ledge. I fell ten feet and landed on my back. I was covered with scratches and bruises. It was probably a pretty good beginning for this movie, though. It set the tone for the whole time we were there. This was going to be fun . . . but dangerous.

[Talking about director John Milius] “There never would have been a Conan movie without him.

[on Warren Beatty] There are some people who are close to him that say he is just starving for attention, and that’s the way he gets attention. Other people said, “Look, he’s not working and he just feels like he should maybe get involved in politics”. Instead, I just think that maybe he is jealous that I did jump in. I find it silly, because I respect his work.

Well, I think because a lot of people don’t know why I’m a Republican, I came first of all from a socialistic country which is Austria and when I came over here in 1968 with the presidential elections coming up in November, I came over in October, I heard a lot of the press conferences from both of the candidates, [Hubert H. Humphrey] and [Richard Nixon], and Humphrey was talking about more government is the solution, protectionism, and everything he said about government involvement sounded to me more like Austrian socialism. Then when I heard Nixon talk about it, he said open up the borders, the consumers should be represented there ultimately and strengthen the military and get the government off our backs. I said to myself, “What is this guy’s party affiliation?” I didn’t know anything at that point. So I asked my friend, “What is Nixon?” He’s a Republican. And I said, “I am a Republican”. That’s how I became a Republican.”

[on refusing to grant clemency to condemned killer Stanley Tookie Williams] After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency. The facts do not justify overturning the jury’s verdict, or the decisions of the courts in this case.

[After undergoing heart surgery in 1997] We made, actually, history, because it was the first time ever that doctors could prove that a lifelong Republican has a heart.

As a kid – as a kid I saw socialist – the socialist country that Austria became after the Soviets left. Now don’t misunderstand me: I love Austria and I love the Austrian people. But I always knew that America was the place for me. In school, when the teacher would talk about America, I would daydream about coming here. I would daydream about living here. I would sit there and watch for hours American movies, transfixed by my heroes, like John Wayne. Everything about America seemed so big to me, so open, so possible.

I have no sexual standards in my head that say this is good or this is bad. Homosexual – that only means to me that he enjoys sex with a man and I enjoy sex with a woman. It’s all legitimate to me.

I didn’t think about money. I thought about the fame, about just being the greatest. I was dreaming about being some dictator of a country or some savior like Jesus.

I’m 6’2″. I’ve heard rumors that I’m really much shorter in real life – like 5’6″ or something like that – which is ridiculous. I can assure you this is not the case. People look up to me, and not just because I do a lot of work in the community. I mean, most people really look up to me.

California will not wait for our federal government to take strong action on global warming. We won’t wait for the federal government. We will move forward because we know it’s the right thing to do. We will lead on this issue and we will get other western states involved. I think there’s not great leadership from the federal government when it comes to protecting the environment.

Money doesn’t make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.

[in a 1987 interview] I have to give the audiences what they enjoy seeing while I try to bring in a little something new, with different movies, different time periods and all those things. But what’s important is to entertain the people — everything else means nothing.

[on his late friend and role model, body builder Reg Park]: Reg was a dear friend, an extraordinary mentor and a personal hero. Other than my parents, there may be no single person who had more to do with me becoming the person I am today than Reg. He was like a second father to me. It was Reg who impressed upon me how hard I would have to work if I wanted to achieve my dreams. I’ll always remember him making me do calf-raises with 1,000 pounds at 5 o’clock in the morning.

[on “Terminator Salvation”] I think it’s cool to continue on with the franchise, in case I want to jump over again and get into the acting after I’m through here (as Governor of California).

There are such high standards and now there are always new standards being set for action. You see that with “Iron Man” and with “The Dark Knight” and that other film this summer, um, “Wanted”. That was an excellent movie! There was this train coming down from a bridge, falling, and they’re fighting inside the train car. Jesus, that is unbelievable that you can do that. To have the imagination to write it and the talent to shoot it and make it real on the screen. It’s a whole new dimension.

With Batman and Terminator, those big movies, there’s a certain expectation and if you don’t live up to it, if the movie is not a 10, then the business will be soft. If “Terminator Salvation” is pushing it forward, it will be breaking records all the time. If director McG has the T4 and the kind of shots that has the audience thinking, ‘Now how did he do that?’ — then it is ‘Terminator’ and you can blow everyone away and every record at the box office.

[on “Terminator Salvation”] I hope they do well, and I hope it is a huge hit. I do hope it creates a spectacle on the screen. That is what James Cameron created.

[on watching Will Ferrell movies] In those you howl for two hours and you feel like you get a six-pack of ab muscles from all the laughs!

[on “Terminator Salvation”] I wasn’t sure who the Terminator was. I don’t know if there is one or if he’s the star or the hero. These are the things that determine the success and how strong the movie will be.

I know California is supposed to be a place where dreams come true, but my life has gone way beyond the dream. My dream was to come to America, become the greatest bodybuilder of all time and do what Reg Park had done by going into Hercules movies. And if that worked out, I was going to build a gym business and then live happily ever after. Then all of a sudden I shot right by my dream. I stopped doing the strong man stuff, did the Terminator movies and became the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. I got $30 million for “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”, you know.

[on the death of Michael Jackson] Michael was a pop phenomenon who never stopped pushing the envelope of creativity. Though there were serious questions about his personal life, Michael was undoubtedly a great entertainer and his popularity spanned generations and the globe.

[on the death of Patrick Swayze] Patrick Swayze was a talented and passionate artist who struck a memorable chord with audiences throughout the world. He played a wide range of characters both on stage and in movies and his celebrated performances made the hard work of acting look effortless – which I know from experience is not easy. As a fan and as an actor, I admired Patrick and I know that he will be dearly missed. On behalf of all Californians, Maria and I send our deepest condolences to Patrick’s family, friends and fans.

I am here to spend. I love to spend Hollywood’s money! (June 1993).

[on Sylvester Stallone in “The Expendables”] It is a great inspiration for people to see someone at his age still at the top of his game — acting, writing, directing, doing his own stunts and fight scenes — I mean, what an amazing talent. And for him to still be so athletic and be able to rip off his shirt and have a six-pack is just unbelievable.

[on the death of Tony Curtis] Tony Curtis was a Hollywood icon, a great performer and artist and devoted family man. I saw his extraordinary talent and ability to inspire generations of Americans firsthand on the set of “Christmas in Connecticut”‘ and will always remember our times together.

[on a return to movies when his term as Governor of California ends] I have no idea. So it depends if someone comes with a great script or a great idea…you know, would I still have the patience to sit on the set and to do a movie for three months or six months? All of those things, I don’t know, but I did have a meeting with James Cameron, we talked about some very important things.

The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.

(On the power of visualizing your goals) When I was very young, I visualized myself being and having what it was that I wanted. The mind is really so incredible. Before I won my first Mr. Universe, I walked around the tournament like I owned it. The title was already mine. I had won it so many times in my mind that there was no doubt I would win it. Then, when I moved on to the movies, the same thing. I visualized myself being a successful actor and earning big money. I could feel and taste success. I just knew it would happen.

[on the passing of Elaine Kaufman] Elaine was an early supporter of my acting career and would often call to let me know when an influential writer or producer came in so I could stop and schmooze.

[on “Terminator Salvation”] The last one was awful. It tried hard, not that they didn’t try, the acting and everything – it missed the boat.

[on visiting Venice, California] This place is insane. You never have to smoke a joint. You just go on a bicycle ride in the morning, inhale, and you live off everyone else.

[on “Predator 2”] A predator in a city is a bad idea.

[on his career as a bodybuilder] I had a very clear vision of where I wanted to go. You realize you have to pay no attention to the naysayers. When you learn those lessons in sports, you can apply those lessons for the rest of your life.

[on his Governor’s salary] I didn’t take a penny of my salary during my terms. After all, it was petty cash compared to what you make in the movies.

You can’t have a life full of successes. In bodybuilding, I tried bench-pressing 500lb many times and failed. That’s how you get there. You have to be daring.

They’re writing right now “Terminator”. There have been some writers on it for the last year-and-a-half and they could not pull it off. We have told them over and over that they are going in the wrong direction, now they’ve finally got rid of those writers and they’ve got new really quality writers. Now they’re going in the right direction. I think this year the script will be finished and we will be able to go into pre-production.

[on the death of his mentor Joe Weider] He advised me on my training, on my business ventures, and once, bizarrely, claimed I was a German Shakespearean actor to get me my first acting role in –“Hercules in New York” even though I barely spoke English. He was there for me constantly throughout my life, and I will miss him dearly.

[his father] A lot of sons would have been crippled by his demands, but instead the discipline rubbed off on me. I turned it into drive.

To this day, I’m more comfortable when there’s someone to schmooze with until I fall asleep.

When you grow up in a harsh environment, you never forget how to withstand physical punishment, even long after the hard times end.

If you wanted a girl, you had to make an effort to have a conversation, not just drool like a horny dog.

I associate glasses with intellectuals.

I came to America, won Mr Universe, and now I’m in the movies.

Most bodybuilders don’t have very interesting insights or routines.

In America, unlike Europe, there weren’t a million obstacles to starting a business.

After coming to California, I posed in the heights above Malibu. Bodybuilders like this spot because the ridges in the distance seem little and your muscles look bigger than the mountains.

The applause of a crowd made me stronger.

If you get muscles, you can go to the beach and pick up girls.

Americans love foreign names.

I wanted to be rich very quickly.

Monstrous, futuristic, what I envisioned America as all about.

Something that seems impossible at the start can be achieved.

[on sweat] It’s a great way to lose body fat.

Nights without sleep don’t mean you can’t perform at a high level the next day and days without food don’t mean you’ll starve.

I aimed to be a leader someday.

If you let ego show through, you’re put in your place.

[on journalists] They see everything from the outside.

Staying on top of the hill is harder than climbing it.

Its great to have someone to go home to.

When you have a relationship in a foreign language, you have to be extra careful not to miscommunicate.

I couldn’t believe how difficult learning a new language could be. Pronunciations were especially dangerous.

[Mr Universe, Mr World and Mr Olympia] Winning all three would be like unifying the heavyweight title in boxing: it would make me the undisputed world champion. Mr World was by far the biggest bodybuilding event I’d ever seen.

In bodybuilding I was king of the mountain, but in everyday LA I was just another immigrant struggling to learn English and make a life. I was glad to be away living my own life.

I always saw myself as a citizen of the world.

The more popular bodybuilding grew in prisons, the more guys would get the message to behave.

Winning narrowly didn’t make me feel good; I wanted my dominance to be clear.

[after his father had a stroke] It was painful and upsetting to see a man who had been so smart and so strong lose his coordination and his ability to think. He died not long after.

[his nephew Patrick] He became my pride and joy.

Real estate was the place to invest. The math of real estate really spoke to me.

I like to always wander in like a puppy.

Bodybuilders look in the mirror as they train. You need to be your own trainer.

If millions of people came to see my movies someday, it was important that they know where the muscles came from.

I wanted to promote bodybuilding, both so that more people would take part and to benefit my career. If I wanted to promote bodybuilding to a new audience, I’d have to find my own way.

[on bodybuilding] It needed fresh blood.

I find joy in the gym because every rep and every set gets me one step closer to my goal.

I liked getting swept up into a cloud of celebs.

[on Jack Nicholson, ‘Warren Beatty’, and Roman Polanski] They all had such enormous passion for their profession.

Having women in the gym made us train harder.

I had no idea that reading from a script means you’re supposed to act out the role.

[personal motto] Presentation, presentation, presentation.

When somebody sets the bar so low, you can’t go wrong.

[endorsing bodybuilding publicly] It was a boost for bodybuilding in America; suddenly the sport had a face and a personality.

In an entertainment interview, you could just make up stuff!

In bodybuilding, you try to suppress emotions and march forwards with determination; in acting its the opposite.

To live your life as an actor, you can’t be afraid of someone stirring up your emotions.

Europe was always far less puritanical than the United States.

Sometimes its hard to explain to your toddler what you do at the office.

I’ve been retired from bodybuilding since 1980 but I’ll always stay involved.

[during his open-heart surgery] Maria (Shriver) put a brave face on a scary situation.

I get goosebumps when Nelson Mandela talks about inclusion, tolerance and forgiveness.

[on Maria Shriver] If I hadn’t been her style and she hadn’t been mine, we never would have ended up together. Maria meshed with everything that I was, what I stood for, and what I was doing. I got addicted to her. Maria was such a forceful personality that she would just run over guys. She wanted to be unique and different.

I was a self-made man.

In politics, when disputes arise and camps form, you have to grasp what’s happening and move very quickly.

I could go on for hours about what draws me to Maria (Shriver) but still never fully explain the magic.

Love stories are built around people’s idiosyncrasies.

[on Conan the Barbarian] There was no stunt double because it would have been difficult to find someone with a body like mine.

Dino (De Laurentiis) had a reputation for getting things done. He was very powerful in that way, and people in Hollywood knew it and didn’t mess with him.

[on Conan the Barbarian] I’d never done a love scene on camera and found it really strange.

My character and his stolen Harley were a perfect combo of cyborg and machine in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Our first major decision as a couple (he and Maria Shriver) was to find a house and call it our place.

When people come to me with a movie concept or a script, I always ask “What is the poster? What is the image? What are we trying to sell here?”

Danny DeVito is a master of comedy, loves stogies, and cooks pasta on the set-no wonder he made such a great twin.

Ivan Reitman took a chance on me as a comic hero.

Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and I had great fun opening Planet Hollywood restaurants around the world.

Total anonymity is almost impossible in Hollywood.

The outside world looked at our relationship (he and Maria Shriver) in a simple-minded way, as a juicy success story. According to this way of thinking, Maria becomes part of my trophy collection.

[on Maria Shriver] She brought a great foundation of knowledge and was a great partner to work with because we both grew.

When you start out, its all about one to one contact.

I’d always advanced by starting with a clear vision and working as hard as possible to achieve it.

For Maria (Shriver) to go out and be in front of the camera was a real declaration of independence.

[on Maria Shriver] She was the ideal woman for me.

Writing something is different from saying it.

I was Conan, and millions of dollars were being spent to make me shine. For the first time, I felt like the star.

[on Oprah Winfrey] She was talented and aggressive, and you could tell she believed in herself.

An aspect of being a Kennedy cousin (Maria Shriver) was that you were never completely free. Since there were so many cousins, the number of command performances were high.

Every one of the killings in Conan (the Barbarian) was well shot and extraordinary.

[on Conan the Barbarian] A Star Wars set on Earth.

(John) Milius always pushed the envelope. Conan (the Barbarian) has stunts that have since been outlawed from movies. The bloodshed in Conan seems tame by today’s standards. At the time, the film introduced a whole new dimension of violence on screen. Actors had five quarts of blood strapped to their chests, the same amount in the human body. Whenever it was spilled, Milius shot it against a light background to get the full carnage.

I was really annoyed by the way that powerful studio executives kowtowed to the members of the ratings board.

I saw myself as a businessman first.

[on Ronald Reagan] He was wonderful at painting ideas in ways that everyone could understand.

My definition of living is to have excitement always; that’s the difference between living and existing.

If you want to fight prejudice you have to have tolerance centers everywhere.

I was amazed to see how negative most of the people in Hollywood remained toward Reagan during his presidency. He represented the values that had brought me to America. The US was the greatest country with the best opportunities and now that it was my home, I wanted to keep it that way and make it even better. After the turmoil and gloom of the 1970s, Americans voted for Reagan because he reminded them of their strength.

[the outrageous and conservative sides to his personality] I wanted to feel comfortable in both worlds.

There has to be investment in the public good.

I’d have made more money if Jimmy Carter still occupied the White House.

You do a movie or a book, you promote the hell out of it, you travel the world as if its your marketplace, and in the meantime, you work out and take care of business and explore even more.

When I learned about The Terminator, I loved the idea that he was a machine that never had to sleep.

For me, the question was always how to fit in all the stuff I want to do. I seldom saw my life as hectic, the thought rarely crossed my mind.

I’m not a religious person.

I never like to cut things from my life; I only add.

I’d felt like an American from the time I was 10 years old.

[his first thought when he met James Cameron] A skinny, intense guy.

I never went to a competition to compete; I went to win.

I wasn’t sure I was free from prejudice; I’d made prejudiced comments.

When you promote a movie, you want to win over everybody. If you give political speeches, you are bound to turn off somebody.

I considered the US my permanent home.

I kept quiet about politics whenever I visited Austria. I never wanted to be perceived as some wise guy coming back and telling people what to do.

I always believed in shooting for the top, and to become an American is like becoming a member of the winning team.

[his first thought about The Terminator] Strange name.

Poses are the snapshots, and the routine is the movie.

Bodybuilding is a lot like politics; you go from town to town, hoping word will spread.

[on bodybuilding competitions] You can’t just pose on stage like a robot and then walk off; people will never get to know your personality.

At the top of the ladder, there was always room for one more. The more people who stay on the bottom, the more crowded it becomes.

If I can see it and believe it, then I can achieve it.

[on James Cameron] He seemed more real than the people I met from Hollywood.

[on The Terminator] No thinking, no blinking, no thought, just action.

[on restaurants] In Hollywood, the actor never pays.

Once I’ve locked in on a vision for myself, I always resist changing the plan.

I’m a big believer in hard work, grinding it out, and not stopping until it’s done.