If you think there was outrage at a British Superman, imagine what might have happened if Arnie had got his way in the late '70s and he'd been cast as Superman... What Happened? The hulking actor, who hadn't yet scored mainstream movie popularity - but who had starred in the God-awful Hercules In New York - campaigned for the role, probably based on his belief that the most impressive man in the universe should be played by a genuine Mr Universe. Unfortunately for him, Richard Donner didn't agree, and the thick-accented action star was overlooked for Christopher Reeve, who was far less of an imposing physical specimen. But then Reeve could at least speak English convincingly, which produced Ilya Salkind hinted stood in Arnie's way:
"When I met [Arnold] at the premiere of the first film, he said 'Ahhh I should've been Superman'. With that accent... not too good."
Would He Have Worked? Arnie certainly had the size for a super man, but he would have been the least convincing Clark Kent in the history of the character, and his size and accent wouldn't exactly have fit the need to hide in plain sight. As fellow almost Superman Jon Voight later confirmed, Arnie had actually offered to help him bulk up when he thought he wasn't a good physical fit for the character.
"He said: 'Will you do me a favour? Talk to a friend of mine. Do you know who Arnold Schwarzenegger is?'. So I said 'Yeah, I know who Arnold is and I think he's terrific'. "He gets Arnold on the phone and he says: 'Jon, listen! Take the part!'. I said, 'Arnold. I'm not right for it'. He said: 'Take the part. In two months I make you as big as a house!'. I said 'Arnold. I don't want to be as big as a house!'. It was a cute conversation and Arnold was very charming, and enthusiastic, and he was trying to help his buddy."
