8 Big Movie Stars That Started As Background Extras
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger - The Long Goodbye
Back in 1973 it seemed pretty unlikely that young Austrian bodybuilding champion Arnold Schwarzenegger could become a major film star. Producers told him that his body looked weird, that no one could pronounce his name, and that his accent was too thick. That's not to mention that his "acting" debut in 1969's god-awful Hercules in New York failed to impress anyone. So he had a bit of an uphill struggle to change minds but he kept at it, landing his second, uncredited role as a mute henchman in Robert Altman's noir thriller The Long Goodbye. Because if you want to cast somebody as a convincing heavy, you really couldn't do much better. The film stars Elliot Gould as private eye Philip Marlowe, who's investigating the death of a friends wife. He meets a number of sleazy characters along the way and at one point hes marched into the office of one such character, led by Arnies hulking brute. And as for the picture above which features three imposing men, including Arnold, getting undressed around a visibly uncomfortable Gould, you can provide your own context for what's supposed to be happening. There's a perfectly logical explanation. Following this Arnold went on to do more small roles in film and TV before landing Conan, quickly followed by The Terminator and onto internet meme immortality.
