First a bodybuilder, then an actor, then a politician. One could argue Arnold Schwarzenegger lived the American dream. And yes, he will "be back" - for more movies, that is. Schwarzenegger continues to make headlines for his various projects and involvement in pop culture. His son Patrick recently co-starred on HBO's hit show Max The stairs. Maybe one day they'll star in a movie together? Time will tell.
The 1980s saw the release of some of the greatest movies of all time. When it comes to Schwarzenegger's filmography, this decade is arguably his juiciest in terms of memorable onscreen endeavors. Many of the movies below are still relevant in Hollywood, in terms of spin-offs and potential sequels. Here's a closer look at Schwarzenegger's heyday with our list of all his films from the '80s.
10 Red Sonya
Located far in the past in the Conan the Barbarian universe sits Red Sonya, based on the character of the same name. Sonja gained heightened swordsmanship skills after a cry for revenge when the rest of her family was killed by the Queen. After a period of training to hone her skills, she gets a chance to use them when the Queen steals a powerful relic that could tear the world apart if not destroyed soon. and the queen.
Schwarzenegger fulfilled the role of the companion of romantic interests and helped Sonja along the way, but did not overshadow her in her own film. While his role wasn't as memorable as his previous Conan appearance, it shows how invested he was in the extensive world-building of the film's universe.
9 Conan the Destroyer
Conan the Destroyer is the sequel to Conan the Barbarian, and sadly one that wasn't quite as loved as the first. Schwarzenegger returned to the titular role in this film, traveling with his companion Malak before being confronted by Queen Taramis. She tests their worth, but deems them powerful enough to take on her quest. Though hesitant at first, the promise to resurrect his love causes Conan to take on the escort mission to take Princess Jehnna across the land to where she is destined to restore the horn of the god Dagoth.
Of course, no one has any idea what they're really getting into. While Conan played an important role in Schwarzenegger's career, and it was clear that he would continue to play the role as long as there were more movies, it was the movie's plot that dragged him down, as he couldn't seem to hold up to the First.
8 Rough deal
Rough deal is an action movie centered on the FBI and the Mafia. When the mob slaughters an informant and the officers protecting him, Officer Harry Shannon swears revenge for his son's death. He recruits Mark Kaminski, a former FBI agent turned small town sheriff, to help after he realizes there is a leak in the FBI. Pretending to be someone else, Kaminski makes his way into the mob to gain the leader's trust to find out who the mole is and complete their revenge on everyone.
Schwarzenegger plays Kaminski, taking on the larger role as he sneaks around in the crowd and gains their trust. Although it wasn't his most popular role or movie of the decade, he was still lauded for his performance in a movie whose plot was criticized for not being original enough.
7 Twins
A surprising change from the usual Schwarzenegger movies comes the buddy comedy Twins, which inspired a series of more comedic roles for the actor in the '90s. Julius and Vincent Benedict are twin brothers who are the result of a secret experiment to produce the perfect child. However, their mother was told that her son had died and was not even informed that there was a second one, Vincent was placed in an orphanage believing his mother had abandoned him, and Julius was raised by a of the scientists who both believed the mother died during childbirth.
It wasn't until they were 35 that the truth about having twins was revealed to Julius, whereupon he left the scientist to search for his brother, who has turned into a petty criminal. Together they try to find their mother and pay off Vincent's debts. Schwarzenegger plays Julius as the opposite of a beautiful Danny DeVito as Vincent. There were mixed reactions to the movie, with most of the negativity related to its stickiness, as well as some people believing that Schwarzenegger isn't as good at comedy movies as he is at action movies.
6 red heat
The buddy cop movie red heat follows Captain Ivan Danko, a Russian, across the waters and into American territory to team up with Sergeant Art Ridzik. Danko was in charge of taking down drug kingpin Viktor Rostavili, but he fled to Chicago to avoid capture. Ridzik was assigned to help Danko and also prevent him from breaking US laws as they continued to chase Rostavili around town to try to end his drug business. Schwarzenegger takes on the role of Ivan Danko here, fulfilling the role of the stoic Russian captain just as well as in some of his more popular action roles.
5 Conan the Barbarian
Schwarzenegger portrayed for the first time Conan the Barbarian in the 1982 action film of the same name, which led to a sequel, Conan the Destroyer, a few years later. But the original takes the cake, as is usually the case. Schwarzenegger's role as Conan is still one of his most acclaimed and certainly paved the way for future action star roles for the Austrian.
The relentlessly quotable OG movie tells the story of the warrior seeking revenge for the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), the leader of a snake cult. The film's continued success has kept fans' hopes alive for a finale Conan movie that has been talked about for a while, The Legend of Conan.
4 The running man
The running man Set in a dystopian future, it follows Ben Richards (Schwarzenegger), who joins a broadcast game show where criminals flee from armed "stalkers" hired to kill them. Coming out alive means earning a pardon from the state. All the while people watching the festivities as the global economy has completely collapsed and watching professional killers butcher convicted criminals is what passes for entertainment in this alternate reality.
This late 1980s effort laid the groundwork for countless other dystopian films that would later reach the masses. It also secured Schwarzenegger's name in Hollywood as a serious leading man - not just an action hulk.
3 Command
Command shows Schwarzenegger as the prime example of the one-man army. The story follows Matrix, a former commando on a mission to save his daughter from the clutches of a crazed mercenary and dictator. Watch Schwarzenegger take down an endless brigade of henchmen in this skimpy 90-minute effort, which performed extremely well at the box office.
Schwarzenegger was once asked about Command compared to Sylvester Stallone's First bloodsaying, "Mine is a battlefield in Los Angeles. Stallone's battlefield is Vietnam. His movie is very politically oriented, and mine isn't at all. Mine is focused on humor. You can laugh and you can have a good time with it and I don't take myself seriously in the film either, I believe in comic relief, otherwise the whole thing will be too intense and heavy."
2 Predator
Who can forget Predator — especially since the franchise is still very much alive in Hollywood? The original hit film follows an elite paramilitary rescue team led by Dutch (Schwarzenegger) as they attempt to rescue hostages in guerrilla-controlled territory in a Central American rainforest.
There they meet the infamous alien hunter, where Dutch's entire team is picked off one by one, leaving Dutch to face the creature alone. Predator sequels and reboots would follow in the years and decades after the 1987 crowd pleaser, which also starred a standout Carl Weathers (whose death scene is perhaps the film's most memorable moment).
1 The terminator
His own sequel may have surpassed the original, but James Cameron's 1984 was groundbreaking The terminator is still iconic in many ways. For those in need of a refresher, the wonderfully unique storyline begins with Schwarzenegger's killer cyborg making his first appearance in today's society, having been sent from the year 2029 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). Sarah is destined to give birth to a son, John Connor, who will later become the leader of the Human Resistance against Skynet. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) also travels back in time, hoping to defend Connor from the Terminator, who relentlessly pursues her.
According to Men's Health, Schwarzenegger had originally set his sights on playing human resistance fighter Kyle Reese, but when he read the script for the film, he became "fixated" on the villain role: "He's a machine. So everything has to be be matter." I told [James Cameron] That. I said there should be no joy, no satisfaction, no single victory lap. Just the mission, completed. I go over these points. Jim says to me afterwards, “F***, you analyze it better than the way I wrote it. Why don't you play the Terminator?'"
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