The 10 Best Arnold Schwarzenegger Roles That Aren't The Terminator

There's much more to Arnold Schwarzenegger than his time portraying T-800. Anyone familiar with his book, "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story," will realize how brilliantly this title lives up to the remarkable tales he has to tell. Growing up in rural Austria amid the rubble of failed Nazi Germany, Schwarzenegger dominated the body-building world, emerging as Mr. Universe at 20 years old. He won the Mr. Olympia title a staggering seven times.

But he didn't stop there — in fact, far from it. Moving to America, he set his sights on acting, an unlikely goal considering his size and accent. Despite these challenges, Schwarzenegger stuck at it, taking language lessons to lose his native intonation and eventually bagged film roles, including the lead in 1970's "Hercules in New York." For the film, they dubbed his voice and credited him under the name Arnold Strong. More roles followed as his accent and acting improved, and when filmmaker John Milius fancied him as the brutal hero of his 1982 fantasy "Conan The Barbarian," everything changed.

A few years later, "The Terminator" director James Cameron transformed Schwarzenegger's life again, and the rest is history. A keen businessman throughout it all (and an eventual US Governor), he has proven that there's more to this star's repertoire than killer robots. With that in mind, here are the 10 best Arnold Schwarzenegger roles that aren't "The Terminator."

In hindsight, 1985's action-heavy "Commando" laid the blueprint for future gun-toting films. A hero with a comically cool name — in this case, Schwarzenegger's totally-normal-and-everyday-sounding John Matrix — has one of his family members kidnapped by a rebel group with nefarious intentions. Soon we discover that our hero has a set of skills (in this case, the ability to kill everyone that crosses his path). When he's pushed to his limit, Matrix decides to take matters into his own hands to save his abducted daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano) and the day, too.

Hot off the heels of "The Terminator," and produced by Hollywood's go-to action movie guy Joel Silver whose credits include hits like "Lethal Weapon, "Die Hard," and "Predator," "Commando" is far from Schwarzenegger's best role. Still, its gloriously over-the-top nature secured his status as one of the biggest players in the 80s — a cinema era obsessed with action and excess.

"Commando" didn't take itself too seriously, with a host of cheesy lines like: "Please don't disturb my friend, he's dead tired." Matrix states this cheeky line delivery after killing a guy and making him look like he's asleep. Throughout the film, Schwarzenegger showcases an unexpectedly light side — something that would come into play later in his career.

If there's one thing that underpins Schwarzenegger's talent, he can think outside the box when it comes to maximizing success. A keen entrepreneur from a young age (he sold ice creams to lazy punters on hot days as a kid and became a millionaire via property investments before becoming a movie star), when he'd finally conquered movies, he was already eager to shake things up.

1988's "Twins" is the first real example of Schwarzenegger utilizing this success method in his big-screen career. The film paired him with Danny DeVito and "Ghostbusters" director Ivan Reitman to tell the tale of two "identical" twins born as part of a secret experiment to create the perfect baby. After the twins' birth, the scientists separate Julius (Schwarzenegger) and Vincent (DeVito): The former lives a life of science, physical training, and luxury, whereas Vincent grows up in a Los Angeles orphanage. Ultimately, Vincent becomes a sleazy petty crook. When Julius learns about the existence of his long-lost twin, he sets off to find him. Both are surprised when they meet their brother.

In addition to becoming 1988's fifth highest-grossing movie (beating "Die Hard"), "Twins" marked the beginning of a long-running friendship between Schwarzenegger, DeVito, and Reitman. The "Predator" star would make another comedy with them, 1994's "Junior." However, that film didn't capture the same magic as their first outing. Meanwhile, a threequel, "Triplets" is currently in development.

Before Robert Pattinson's emo Batman and Christian Bale's gritty take on the Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne's vengeance-obsessed alter ego went through some very... questionable iterations. Inheriting the role from Val Kilmer, who adopted it from Michael Keaton, George Clooney's take on the Caped Crusader in 1997's "Batman & Robin" has since gone down in history as one of the campiest and worst adaptations of Bob Kane and Bill Finger's beloved DC creation.

However, we're not here to talk about the cringing nature of Batman's credit card or nipple-heavy costume. Let's not forget that "Batman & Robin" also featured Schwarzenegger tackling one of the most popular Bat-villains of all time in a role that marked Mr. Freeze's (so far) only big-screen outing. Directed by Joel Schumacher, the film itself — and specifically Freeze's look — has since become synonymous with a 'toyetic' quality. Many creative decisions were influenced directly by toy companies who reportedly even attended production meetings.

Schwarzenegger's Freeze outfit fell victim to this, with his iconic ice guns designed by toy makers. Meanwhile, his elaborate metal ice suit reportedly cost over $1 million to make and took six hours a day to construct alongside Arnie's extensive blue make-up process. He also wore blue LED lights in his mouth for that extra icy look, but these had to be wrapped in balloons after battery acid started leaking down his throat during the shoot. (Not cool!)

The core concept of "The Expendables" is genius. The over-the-top, cheesy action epics of decades past are coated in nostalgia and still very much beloved. Still, they're rarely in anything other than direct-to-DVD quality. Meanwhile, the stars that fronted these now-cult classics — people like Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Wesley Snipes — feel as though they're seen in movies less frequently while remaining synonymous with the bullet-spewing work of their past.

Lionsgate capitalized on this fan love and distilled it into something new. Enter Sylvester Stallone — one vital player in '80s excess cinema — with "The Expendables," a movie that gatherers this invincible ensemble to create something better than the sum of its parts and a franchise that's a lot of fun to watch. Completing the picture is Schwarzenegger, who was drip-fed into the series as Trench, the long-time frenemy of Stallone's mercenary Barney Ross. Part one features him as a glorified cameo (due to his then-work in US politics in real life), but Schwarzenegger plays a bigger part in Ross' future missions.

Any '80s action fanatic will no doubt cream their jeans at many scenes in this franchise, but none elicits more excitement than the climactic battle in "The Expendables 2", which features all of the genre's big names in one non-stop bullet fest. Imagine the airport battle from "Captain America: Civil War" but with more testosterone and joint pain.

Could there have been a more perfect calling card role for an unusual emerging star like Schwarzenegger than Conan The Barbarian? Based on author Robert E. Howard's fantasy series, directed by John Milius and adapted by filmmaker Oliver Stone, this warrior movie was created by a team that demanded authenticity — and that's exactly what Schwarzenegger delivered.

Just a few years prior, Schwarzenegger starred in "Pumping Iron," a bodybuilding documentary that became an unlikely cult hit and put Schwarzenegger on Hollywood's radar. When the time came to find the right person to bring Howard's vengeance-bent barbarian to life, there really wasn't anyone better suited than Schwarzenegger.

As if his base level of athleticism wasn't already enough, the future star underwent a rigorous training regime that included rope climbing, horse riding, and losing weight to fully prepare for what would become one of his break-out roles. "I think I was meant to play Conan," he told Entertainment Tonight. "I felt very comfortable playing that character, playing that barbaric role and doing all that sword fighting — it was a very physical film. Fighting snakes...riding horses, jumping off 40-foot towers, rope climbing...It was very hard work." 

Cut to today, and "Conan The Barbarian" is widely considered the first movie that put Schwarzenegger on the map, setting him up for a remarkable career.