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Arnold Schwarzenegger is grateful to bodybuilding

Sep 27, 2012, 14:01 GMT

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger owes everything to bodybuilding.

The 65-year-old actor has had a very interesting and varied career - including being a movie star and the Governor of California - but knows he would have been able to do any of it if he hadn't have started working out and taking care of his body while he was growing up in Austria.

Schwarzenegger - who is a seven-time Mr. Olympia bodybuilding champion - said: 'When I started lifting I got compliments right away - 'Wow! You've been lifting for a month? This is incredible. Look at your muscles popping out!' It was the perfect storm. Bodybuilding got me into the movies, then movies got me into political office - because politics is all about name recognition. So it all goes back to bodybuilding. Without that I wouldn't have achieved any of the things that happened after.'

The 'Terminator' star also revealed he always knew he wanted to leave Austria for Hollywood so had to work hard on his body to achieve his dream.

He added to Empire magazine: 'I'd felt from the time I was 10 years old that I was destined for something bigger than staying in Austria, even though at the time I didn't quite know what I was going to be. I remember buying this magazine and reading about a young kid in a factory town who trained hard, became Mr. Universe and went to America. Then all of a sudden he was offered 'Hercules' movies!

'I thought, 'Well, this is exactly what I would like to do.' He trained five hours a day, so I started training five hours a day. Whatever he did, I did. I basically had the blueprint for what I had always dreamed about.'

Schwarzenegger made his acting debut in 1970 movie 'Hercules in New York' but he shot to worldwide fame playing the title character in 'Conan the Barbarian' in 1982.