Arnold Schwarzenegger

Born: July 30, 1947
Where: Thal, Austria

The muscle-bound action hero once growled "I'll be back" but he's since fallen victim to Hollywood's fickle law of diminishing returns.

After a career high of such big grossers as Total Recall, The Terminator, True Lies and Predator he now finds his awesome pulling power slackening off.

Perhaps his mind isn't on it anymore - he may be too busy sorting out the parlous state of West Coast finances as new Governor of California.

Schwarzenegger grew up in a small, isolated village in Austria and turned to bodybuilding as a ticket to the bright lights.

He conquered the world as a hotly ambitious body builder, winning his first Mr Universe title at 20.

However, as far as a career in the movies was concerned his impossible name and thick accent made overnight success a forlorn hope.

Onscreen, Schwarzenegger first gained attention in 1976 as the subject of George Butler's fine documentary, Pumping Iron.

In 1982, the title role came up in Conan the Barbarian, and then two years later, came Conan the Destroyer, each of which grossed over £70 million worldwide.

This led to the successful movie The Terminator, which established his trademark line of "I'll be back".

The modestly-budgeted film secured his status as an international star, established the career of director James Cameron, and set the pace for many of the violent, action-adventure, special effects-driven movies that dominated the market in the second half of 1980s.

Schwarzenegger continued to star in such films for the rest of the 80s with the notable exception of Twins, a comedy that paired him with Danny De Vito.

With an eagerness not only to adapt to American life but to conquer it, he became a US citizen in 1983 and joined the country's nobility with his 1986 marriage to Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family.

Prior to a conscious change in on-screen character, he had killed over 275 people onscreen in films that grossed over £703 million worldwide.

He was soon drawn back to violent movies, when he reprised his role for the blockbuster sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

In 1991, he also opened the Planet Hollywood Restaurant in New York, which he owned along with Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone.

Schwarzenegger made his executive producing debut in 1993, starring in a kiddie-oriented action comedy-fantasy, The Last Action Hero.

It turned out to be a flop, his first since achieving stardom.

By contrast, his follow-up the next summer, True Lies, gained a favourable response from critics and audiences who liked its humour and action sequences.

His foray into Batman & Robin as Mr Freeze was less successful in a movie cluttered with villains but he was back to what he does best in End of Days and The 6th Day.

Collateral Damage was an unsurprising flop and his return to the Terminator series - Rise of the Machines was basically a retread of its predecessor.

Recent projects include Around The World in Eighty Days and Joe's Last Chance.