Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum, Thal Near Graz, Austria

Schwarzenegger wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the role Hercules in 1970's Hercules in New York. Credited under the name "Arnold Strong," his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production. His second film appearance was as a deaf mute hit-man for the mob in director Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film Stay Hungry (1976), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe for New Male Star the Year. Schwarzenegger has discussed his early struggles in developing his acting career. "It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was 'too weird', that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance."
Schwarzenegger drew attention and boosted his prile in the bodybuilding film Pumping Iron (1977), elements which were dramatized. In 1991, Schwarzenegger purchased the rights to the film, its outtakes, and associated still photography. Schwarzenegger auditioned for the title role The Incredible Hulk, but did not win the role because his height. Later, Lou Ferrigno got the part Dr. David Banner's alter ego. Schwarzenegger appeared with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret in the 1979 comedy The Villain. In 1980 he starred in a biopic the 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield as Mansfield's husband, Mickey Hargitay.
Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982, which was a box-fice hit. This was followed by a sequel, Conan the Destroyer in 1984, although it was not as successful as its predecessor. In 1983, Schwarzenegger starred in the promotional video "Carnival in Rio".