Ride Home Rants
Ride Home Rants
From Gym Legend To Global Icon: Ranking Schwarzenegger’s Legacy
What makes an icon endure: muscle, myth, or mindset? We gather a lively panel to track Arnold Schwarzenegger’s improbable climb from Austrian bodybuilder to global action star to California governor—and why that exact trajectory may never be possible again. We start by ranking his “big three” careers and quickly find ourselves weighing influence against output: Mr. Olympia titles that mainstreamed bodybuilding, a blockbuster run that minted catchphrases for generations, and a centrist political chapter that defied expectations in a polarized state.
From there, we dive into the movies that made—and sometimes remade—his image. Terminator 2 gets the love for the rare sequel that outshines the original, while Predator remains a master class in squad tension and physical stakes. We celebrate curveballs like True Lies and Last Action Hero for their humor and self-awareness, and revisit Conan’s mythic brawn, cheesy effects and all. We also call out the misses: Mr. Freeze’s ice puns that froze a franchise in place and late-era misfits that couldn’t find the right tone for Arnold’s presence.
Could anyone repeat his arc today? We unpack why the 80s appetite for mass and spectacle has given way to leaner aesthetics, fragmented fame, and a different model of toughness. The debate turns to best role versus biggest impact—Terminator’s “I’ll be back” looms large—but True Lies emerges as a showcase for timing and warmth. We cap it with the eternal rivalry: Arnold or Stallone for 80s–90s dominance. Some of us value Rocky’s cultural myth, others point to Arnold’s broader range and global recognition. Either way, the conversation is rich with film history, gym lore, and the audacity it takes to reinvent yourself—again and again.
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Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rance Podcast. This is as always your host, Mike Bono. I got a great episode for us today, but first and foremost, we did just land a new sponsor, and that is Web Western. It is apparel for those who aren't afraid of hard work and a hard day's work. For those who like to work on the land, hunting, fishing, anything you could think of, or just working the land, Web Western is for you. I am wearing one of the new hats for those of you watching on Patreon. Uh Webwestern. Uh no BS, just hard work. Go to webwestern.com. Use the promo code MikeBono. Save yourself 10% off of the first purchase there again, webwestern.com. Promo code Mike Bono. We are going to be talking today to a panel of guests uh about all things Arnold Schwarzenegger. I'm gonna let these guys introduce themselves and guys, I need the answer to these two questions first and foremost. Obviously, I need your name, but when did you get your own car for the first time? And which animal would you rather be? A skunk or a fox? And Mr. We're gonna start with you.
SPEAKER_02:Yo, yo, it's the boy vampire coach, Mr. Mr. Ask, you know, from the nasty natty, Ohio. Um I would rather be, golly, I'm gonna have to go with a skunt on this one, go a little different. And uh, yeah, I'll be a skunt, absolutely. You know, get all the poison away from me, you know what I mean? And um, so to answer the question about when did I get my first car? Let me answer that in two quick um answers, real quickly. The first time, I was 16 years old when I got my license, I was able to drive my dad iRock Z28. But as far as me actually going to get my first car, I am 49 years old, getting ready to be 50. I have never actually had the opportunity or needed to buy my own car, so I have never ever purchased my own car yet. Okay, but it's right around the corner, though, because I'm gonna have to get me one soon. We're gonna get you one, Mister, for sure.
SPEAKER_04:Uh, next on the list, we have Cole.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, what's up, everybody? Uh, this is Cole, Cole Schneider. Um, let's see. Animal. I gotta go. I think I'm gonna go with a skunk as well. You got that quiet kind of power, you know. You you're not flashy, you're just stinking things up to keep people away from you. Um, first car, I was 18 years old. I got a 1990 Nissan Maxima, and that was a great car. I had that car for a while, got a lot of compliments on it, too. And that's what in 2020, I think. I got that car. So 16 years old. No, that's a booty car. That's what yeah, I lived in Baltimore at the time, and I used to like everybody loved that fucking car. It was so funny. Love it. Next on the list, we got Fitty.
SPEAKER_01:Hey everybody, uh, you know me, it's Fiddy. Um, I got my first car actually when I was 23, so I never owned a car until I was done with college. Of course, I had my license, but in college I would use my roommate's car, my parents' car. Um, but I got my first car at 23. It was a Toyota Corolla, which lasted me until the age of 36. Uh, so I had it for 13 years. It was like 40% of my life was with that Toyota Corolla. Um, it's a great car. Unfortunately, just the engine doesn't wear out, but the body of the car wears out. So I had to get rid of that. Um, I think I'm gonna go with a fox because they're like sly and they're like the polar opposite of me, because you know I'm talkative and a fox don't say anything. You don't even know what the fox says. So I'm gonna go with that. Um, but I will say this bono though, I like that. I like the new sponsor that we got, and it'd be really great if Sam Elliott could do the uh pre-roll for us with that and talk about Western Weir with his like deep like voice of like the wilderness. If I was a countryman and lived in West Virginia, I would want Sam Elliott to narrate my life story. And we should get him to narrate the pre-roll for that.
SPEAKER_04:I will say this until this actually happens on this show for sure, until we can get Sam Elliott to do the pre-roll uh read for for Webb Western. Uh, I'm super excited about them too as well. But we got one more guest here and Dave.
SPEAKER_03:Hey, what's going on, fellas? It's D Frank. And uh, you know, so the these two questions are kind of intertwined. My first car was uh a 1990 Ford Tempo, it had four-wheel drive, they didn't make very many of them, and it was really good at running over animals, which is why it didn't last very long. Um, and uh, you know, in order to pick up chicks, you had to be pretty smooth to pick them up in a 94 tempo. Uh, the animal that I would choose between a skunk and a fox, I grew up in classic Looney Tunes, man. Pepe Le Pew, the skunk, man, he got the girls, he got the girls, man.
SPEAKER_04:Peppy Le Pew, you know, uh, Mr. I'm not gonna lie, I was waiting for the answer that Dave gave for you with Pepi Le Pew and the skunk. I really thought that's where you were gonna go with this when we started. Uh, this we were talking about this before we got rolling, but for me, uh kind of like Mr. I I got a hand-me-down 91 Ozmobile Aurora when I was 16 from my parents. Um, but actually got my first car when I was 23, and it was uh it was a 2016 Mazda 3. So yeah, went from a big old boat of a car to the smallest thing possible that uh my six foot five ass would fit into. So yeah, it was it was a good car, lasted me a while, um, but had to get back to to bigger trucks and SUVs now. Uh can't can't be riding these these little cars anymore. But we're not here to talk about cars. Oh, uh for the animal. I forgot that one. Um I gotta go Fox, just uh mainly on the sheer fact I don't I don't know about I but but either of these two animals um wouldn't be my first choice. But uh everyone else said skunk, so I'm gonna say fox, uh like Fitty. I'm gonna go with Fitty and uh we're gonna be a Fox for sure. Uh but let's start talking about all things Schwarzenegger here. Um, and Mr. We'll start with you. Uh if you had to rank Arnold's big three career highlights of being an actor, a bodybuilder, and a politician from one to three, and one being the highest and three being the lowest, where would you rank them?
SPEAKER_02:I would say bodybuilder one, movie theater two, and then politician three. Yeah, yeah, that's fair.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, Bitty, what about you?
SPEAKER_01:I would say bodybuilders one. I'm gonna say politicians two, though. Here's why, because he did something probably none of us may ever seen ever again, is he went from literally being an actor and a and an actor and a bodybuilder to the governor, a two-time governor um in in the state of California with no political experience. There's been very few people that have ever like transitioned from movies completely over. You know, you had like Ronald Reagan, right? But Ronald Reagan was also involved in some other politics. He needed to jump to like the governor spot. And then also the thing about Arnold um, too, is I mean, not beginning political or anything, but he did that in California as a two-time Republican um governor. So I would say you would probably have to give him a little bit of credit um with that, just because what he did was was very uh was very different, wasn't seen. The close, probably the next closest person was actually, for all us wrestling fans, Jesse to Body Ventura with what he did in Minnesota, but he did that as like an independent candidate, but he was also a mayor before that. But then I would say probably acting is number three, but beyond, yeah, it's weightlifting first, and then probably it could be flipped very easily. I would say politician second, and then probably movie actor third.
SPEAKER_03:Okay. De Frank, what about you? Oh, I mean, it's in chronological order, right? You know, if he doesn't start as a bodybuilder, then the other opportunities in America don't come for him. And so I think you do have to do number one. Uh, as an actor, number two, um, you know, his just catalog of movies is is so extensive. And it went all the way from Conan where they had to dub his voice in, to, you know, the expendables, right? So he runs a whole gamut. However, I'm with Fitti Man. His work as a politician, particularly as a centrist right candidate who you know, even today continues to put out uh a ton of uh he puts out a daily newsletter that I get every day because it's it's just common sense stuff in America in a place where there isn't enough common sense anymore. Heard that. Cole, what about you?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, uh for me personally, I think uh I gotta go acting number one just because that's what I know him mostly as uh bodybuilding. I think it's like D. Frank said, that without bodybuilding, he never would have been the guy that he was in acting. Uh, but you know, the politician side, it's one of those things where he did have a lot of good health initiatives as well for kids at the time when he was in there. Um he's done stuff in the past for uh uh, you know, uh folks that are maybe lower income, things along those lines. So you got to give it to him on number three as well when it comes to being a politician.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I got you on that one. I'm I'm pretty consistent with everyone here, pretty much, you know, bodybuilding, acting, and then politician. Um, I feel like that's that's a fair order, uh, mainly because bodybuilding is what guy gave him, I guess, his name to fame, which led to the acting, which then led to the politician. So yeah, you can't have him get to where he was without the bodybuilding, I think. So that's obviously got to be number one for sure. But Cole, stay with you. What are your well uh if I could talk tonight, that'd be great. Uh, what are your three most personal favorite Arnold movies?
SPEAKER_00:All right. So, number one is my all-time favorite, Terminator 2. I think that's probably gonna be a pretty popular pick. It's uh James Cameron. I love James Cameron's take on Terminator series. I think it's a fantastic movie as just a general movie, so I gotta go T2. Uh, number two, a lot of people are probably gonna hate this, uh, but I gotta go last action hero because when I was a kid, that was one of my favorite movies of all time. Uh, I watched it probably 40 times in one year. Uh, and then I think that I mean Predator is one of the coolest movies ever. So uh Predator's right there, right behind it.
SPEAKER_03:So okay. D Frank, what about you? Well, I I'm kind of surprised that Cole pulled Last Action Hero because that's a great pull. Uh, I think it's fantastic. There's another movie that that you know it kind of ages me as a 90s baby in the fact that I love true lies. Uh, I thought that that was phenomenal. Um you know, and uh I I think honestly, you know, you guys are gonna hate this, but uh his turn as kindergarten cop doing a little comedy was uh was classic. Like uh there's so many lines from that movie, it's not a tuma, that was just so great.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, that that's you you pulled a good one there with kindergarten cop. But Freddie, what about you?
SPEAKER_01:Um, probably my favorite is probably uh Conan the destroyer, because it he was like so like just awesome in that with like Will Chamberlain and people didn't know Andre the Giant actually played the monster in that. Um, so I I love him in that. Um I thought it was just really great. Um, and I'd probably say Predator was number two. And then Terminator One, I love Terminator two, but Terminator One is probably my third favorite with him because that whole frame, though, was in the 80s, and that was like before we knew 90s Arnold, right? Like those movies kind of made him. So I really like to be like nostalgic with that, but those three are are definitely my favorites.
SPEAKER_02:I gotcha, Mister. What about you? I tell you what, man, those are all good and great picks, man. But I might have to, you know, one of mine is Total Recall, man. I can watch that movie a lot and more and more. Uh Total Recall, The Runny Man. Uh love that one. Um, and and then I'm probably gonna have to go with either um probably Predator, man. You know, Predator was you know saying what was a it was a classic, you know, that first one, you know, with all them guys in there, man, all them, you know, former wrestlers that was in there, man. So those are my man.
SPEAKER_04:And you can't, you know, Commando was a good one too, but yeah, there there's so many that it's tough to narrow down three for me. Uh T2 for sure. Um, just that the whole Terminator series is great. And you know, plus having Mark Christopher Lawrence on the show way back when we basically first got started, you know, T2 is definitely uh up there for me. Um I gotta go Predator for my number two. And it's such a tough pick for number three. So since we're around the holidays, I'm gonna go with Jingle all the way. Uh just to add a little bit of comedy. And you know, it's close to the holidays. We're in November, so we're gonna get we're gonna throw a little holiday favorite in there all the way. And uh just with the but it was close one for with kindergarten cop for me, just because of the lines, you know, put that googie down, you know, like that's you've got those with jingle all the way. You can always have all those one-liners in there, so that's that's it for me uh with those three for sure. Uh Mr. Uh, have you ever seen Arnold and Conan in the yeah, in the Conan movies? Uh that would be Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer. If so, what are your thoughts on these movies?
SPEAKER_02:You know what? I mean, I'll I like both of them. You know, I but I'll tell you another one was Red Sonia. I don't know if you guys remember remember that one that was in, but that was was that was a good one, man. Um, but uh but Conan the Barbarian, the first one, I you know, I love that one. I can I can watch that one all day long. Uh you know, it really, you know what I'm saying? It's show off how buffed he was in those movies, man. But that one though, but Conan the Barbarian, but I also like Red Sonia. That was another one they was there. It was like a spin-off from the um Conan Barbarian, Conan Destruction.
SPEAKER_04:I gotcha. Freddy, what about you?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, no, I love both Conan's. Um, uh Conan the Barbarian was great. I mean, I love James Earl Jones. Uh, he had a great voice as well, like right there with Sam Elliott, like the voice of God type of deal. Um, really like that. Um, the Snake King thing, yeah, I mean, it is what it is. I mean, it was pretty cheesy when they had like James Earl Jones transform into the snake, it was very cheesy. You could tell it was very 1982. Conan the destroyer, though, I really like that. Like I talked about like Andre the Giant was in that, Will Chamberlain, Grace Jones, a great cast. The one thing I'll say, and if people don't know, like you can look this up. So when they were Mook in that movie, and sorry, it's gonna get just off topic for a second, but Arnold Wilt, Wilt was in his 50s, he had Arnold, then you had like prime Andre the Giant, WWF. And it's quoted that Arnold said that he was the weakest out of the three of them, but he said Wilt Chamberlain was the strongest human being he's ever, ever weightlifted with. Um, and there was always stories about that, but he said Will Chamberlain, pound for pound, is probably the strongest person he's ever he's ever seen in weightlifting. He was even stronger than Andre the Giant, who was, you know, who can move cars. I mean, because he was so big. But he said Will Chamberlain's pure strength. I think he talked about him benching like 500 pounds in his 50s. Um, you know, talked about just how freakish of an athlete, which we talked about on the one show, about the greatest athletes of all time, about Will Chamberlain. So, yeah, you can looked it up. Arnold, uh, Arnold talked about that. He said Will Chamberlain was freakishly strong. But yeah, I love both Conans. Uh, it's definitely really great. And probably the best one is probably in the destroyer when they're going through the waterfall to go into the cat the thing. And the guy's like, my brothers, cousins, uncles, sisters, nephews, neighbors said that there's a secret passageway through here. And then he like keeps repeating it, but he keeps messing it up. And he's like, My neighbor's cousins, brothers, sisters, dad's girlfriend, and Grace Jones just started screaming at him and like, who even cares? Like, who cares about your brothers, cousins, sisters, nephews, girlfriends, you know, whatever. So I always just found super humor in that, but love both conans. Gotcha. D Frank, what about you?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so uh I prefer Arnold Schwarzenegger when he actually could speak a little bit of English. Uh well, I think the Conan movies are good. I think they're a little lower on the totem pole for me. Uh, and Fiddy, I don't think you're technically allowed to say Wilt Chamberlain and Pound for Pound in the same sentence.
SPEAKER_04:That's that's facts for sure. Cool. What about you with these movies?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'm kind of with D Frank on those. Uh I haven't I've watched those movies a few times, but it's been a long time since I've gone through them. Uh, I will say they're both perfectly like mythical, muscly mayhem movies, so it's it's fun in that way. Uh one of the best scenes is when he's getting whipped around in a circle when he's fighting. It's just such a funny scene. He's like, oh, it's just it's bright. Yeah, those movies are fantastic. They're just not like top of my uh top of my list.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, they're great. Um, again, not top of my list like you there, Cole, but yeah, there's a lot of hidden comedy in those movies, too, as well. Little lines that if you're not paying attention, you'll miss them. Like what Cole was saying with spinning around and the brothers, sisters, mothers, cousins, daughters twice remote, you know, whatever. Yeah, it was, you know, just that whole thing with that. Like if you're not paying attention, like you you'd miss a lot of it. And I think that's what makes it, you know, it's up there, but it's yeah, it's it's not in my top five, even for me, for Arnold. Um, but Cole, Arnold changed the game in bodybuilding and in weightlifting. And I know you you're not too familiar because you came in when he was, you know, doing movies. Uh, do you think there will ever be someone like him again in bodybuilding, though? I mean, we have the Arnold classic and everything like that. Now there's a whole competition built around him. Do you think that'll ever happen again?
SPEAKER_00:No, I I don't think it's really if it hasn't happened yet, I don't think it's gonna happen again, right? Uh it's just what he's like one of those guys that kind of he was above what his genre was in a lot of ways. I don't know. I don't really know the history as to why he became that way. I know that he had the physique and all of that, but it's kind of a crazy thing for him to hit that superstar status as a a weightlifter. Um, you know, I just uh I don't really know the history behind it. If anybody actually knows that, it would be pretty interesting to hear.
SPEAKER_04:It's um it's it's it's a lot from where he where he grew up. I mean, weightlifting was kind of all he had. Um, and then it was a dream of his to make it to America to be a professional bodybuilder. Um, and if anybody has ever seen any of Bill Burr's stand-ups, he does a whole skit on Arnold Schwarzenegger and like his goals and just how ridiculous they sounded uh to the normal person that didn't have his mindset, like, oh, I'm gonna move to America and I'm gonna become a famous bodybuilder, and he does, and then he's like, Oh, I'm gonna start acting and start doing movies with kids and kindergarten cop and all this, and all this other stuff. And then he was like, Oh, and then I'm gonna marry a Kennedy, and everyone's like, You are out of your mind, and he does that, and then now he's a and then he was a politician. So it's just he just keeps raising the board. It's just his mindset that he had growing up, and bodybuilding was kind of what it was. He just always liked lifting weights because it got him away from everything in uh where he was growing up. And for the life of me, I can't think of the country where he grew up right there. Austria, thank you. Yep, thank you. I could not for the life of me, the the name just gone. Uh, but yeah, that's just where he grew up. That was all he had to get him away from there, um, and to America, which is ultimately where he wanted to be. Um, why do I know this useless knowledge? I don't know. I'm full of it. Um, I know a bunch of useless facts that get me nowhere um in life right now. Uh, but that's one of them. Um, but yeah, that's kind of the the story there, Cole to answer that question for you. Um and where I heard that, I have no idea. Um, so take that with a grain of salt, if you will. But that's that's just what I've I've heard through the grapevine and everything like that. But DeFrank, let's talk about what about you?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so I don't think that you could have uh an Arnold Schul Schwarzenegger story per se anymore. When he was coming up in the late 70s and early 80s, the 80s were just a decade of excess. And so, you know, the whole idea of steroids, you know, being common, you know, if you think of the NFLers that were involved with it, if you think of the professional wrestlers, and by the way, look at them now, they're a little worse for wear uh because of it. The 80s weren't real kind to a lot of those folks, um, you know, later on. And then of course in the 90s, uh, you know, you had Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire. And then all of a sudden there came kind of a negative connotation to that enormous jacked action hero kind of situation. If you think about the action heroes today, you know, just look at the running man in 1987 when when Schwarzenegger did it, he was ripped out of his mind. Now you've got Glenn Powell, who I mean, dude's fit, but he's not jacked like that. That sort of epitomized the 80s was that enormous built, you did the Stallone show, right? You know, that whole kind of age of excess. I don't think it you're not gonna have that again.
SPEAKER_04:No, it it was a different time where people wanted to be uh, for lack of a better term, I mean using this term a lot today, and it's yoked out of their mind. You know what I mean? Like just absolute monsters of men in the 80s and like the early 90s and that. So, like that was the thing. Now it's more of this toned jacked, if you will, like, but like these MMA, this mixed martial arts that's coming about where you don't need to be 300 pounds of pure muscle. You could be like a con McGregor, 135, and still kick the shit out of everybody that comes across your path. You know what I mean? And it you're still tough and you're still strong in your own right. Um, so I don't to to answer the question quickly, I don't think that we'll ever be anybody kind of like, oh, if it hasn't happened yet, it's not gonna happen. Um, at least in our lifetimes, um, that we'll we'll see here. Uh, but Fitty, what about you? What are you what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER_01:No, I think those are those are definitely valid points. Yeah, and I don't think it'll ever happen again. Because the thing is, like, there's too many other sports now that are popular, there's mainstream social media, right? So it's also changed the game, like in that regard. The guy thing, like Arnold grew up, people were using rotary phones, right? And writing letters. Like, there's no computers, no this, no that. But he, you know, everybody knew who he was, like coming up. And I think the other thing is as well, like you have to realize um if if somebody like Jay Cutler didn't do it, or um Ronnie Coleman couldn't do what what Arnold did and they were close, but they couldn't do it, then no one's overtaking Ronnie Coleman or Jay Cutler, let alone overtaken you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Because I don't think people also like to what you guys were saying, like, don't admire a 300-pound super jacked guy now. You look at him, you're like, ah, look at this guy. Like, he's probably on steroids. Like to Dave's point. Like, you look at a guy who's like Tom Brady, and you're like, Well, I want to be that guy when I'm 47 years old and be like that trim and that in shape. I don't think just don't think people admire like you being super jacked like like he was or Ivan Drago was, you know what I mean? Like in Rocky IV, um, with Dolph Lundgren. So I just think the times have changed, but yeah, I don't think there'll ever be another him in weightlifting.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, for sure. Mr. What about you?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you know, I I you know I agree with all of you guys. I think the thing is it's just a different time period, different mindset across the board. You know, you just look at it from the from the 60s to the 80s. Um, it was just a different time period. I mean, during that time period, that's what the guys was doing, trying to get as big as possible. You know, trying to get as big as possible. Uh, and you know, like I don't know, he, you know, he came over here to America from a different country and and his outlet was waste. And he was able to, you know, put himself in a good position where somebody saw him and wanted to, you know what I'm saying, see where they can go with him. And, you know, and that's gonna be rare. You know, you're not gonna find too many, you're not gonna find too many guys like that now. You know, like 50 said, you know, you know, plus it's there's so many, there's just so many different avenues uh getting your fix, you know, whatever, you know, whatever that might be, you know, everybody, you know, not lifting. I mean, like 50 said, there's a lot of different activities, a lot of different games. You know, I think the time period is just it's just different, you know. Like I you know, I used to watch the the the weights um all the time in them early 80s and 90s and looking at Sean Ray, Coleman. Um, I mean, all them guys, you know, we're talking about guys who are just Jack, Jack. You know, looking at the muscle, the muscle magazines, and it's just a this is just different now. You know, guys have too many more, you know, it's just too many more opportunities to do other things. And I just don't think a lot of people is as serious like that, you know, how he was. You know, it was it was his way out of his situation.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, you're you're not wrong with that there. I I know one guy like that now, and we've had him on the show, and that's Andrew the Destin Legend Mitchell. He is an IFB power lifting pro. Um, he's placed in a couple of events and the the biggest dude next to James Harrison that I've seen in person in my life. Um like he he just lost my headphones there. Uh he is jacked for I mean, obviously there's a reason now because he's an IFB pro, but uh at the time when I met him, I was I was managing an Anytime Fitness, and he was the the district manager at at the time. And just looking at him and being where I was at like 175 pounds at six foot five. So uh like not that big of a dude just looking at him like, dude, you got them all, like you got all the muscles. Like, why are you like why are you still here? Like you got them all. Like, I I don't I can I have some because uh like but yeah, like it, but it's just a different mindset of a person like there's one person that I know, and greatest dude in the world. Don't don't get me wrong with that, like uh Drew Mitchell. Uh I know he listens to the show a lot. Uh thanks for the support and everything like that, too. But yeah, biggest dude uh that I've seen in person um next to James Harrison. And you know, I I don't know. Were you there, Penny, for the charity basketball game with the Steelers when James Harrison was there? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, Charlie Bouch walked right past me in the uh in the in the train when I was in the training room talking to T Mike. Charlie Bouch just walked out the back door. So yeah, I was there for him.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, yeah. Um, it was yeah, seeing him and you know, playing against him, that was the one game that I you know I decided to to play basketball. And I'm the worst basketball player in the world. Yeah, and just seeing Harrison there and like, dude, your your bicep is the size of my torso. Like, why are you this big? Like, you know, so like there's the that mindset with people. Um and it's it's changed completely. Like, because yeah, who who wouldn't want to be Tom Brady in their 40s right now? I mean, don't like to do it as an athlete because he's that good, but he's a good looking dude for 40s, you know what I mean? Like that is what it is, and that's the new standard, I would, I would say.
SPEAKER_00:I feel like there are some some jack dudes. I mean, there's like The Rock, Melcena. I don't know. Do they care there? I guess they're not as big as maybe Schwarzenegger was, but they're not as big, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:As Schwarzenegger was in his in his prime with weightlifting, they're they're not even close to to where he was.
SPEAKER_02:And you know, and the thing with the with the whole body thing, like I mean, that's that was their life. Like, that was their full-time job. Their body's all they did. You know what I'm saying? You know, lifting and competing. And you know, you just don't have, you know, I think we just had a different time period where uh people, you know, and then plus number nine that though, but just look, you know, at this with all the information we have to look at and access, you look at and see how how many of these bodybuilders from the 70s and 80s and even early 90s, look at how the the toll it took on their body. You know, look at them right now, especially coming, man. That's I was every time I see them, man. I just want to, you know, it's just sad. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:It is, yeah. The steroids took a big toll on on their bodies back then now, uh uh that they didn't think was gonna happen. But you know, such is life, uh it is. But we'll we'll move on from the weightlifting here, mister. And uh what do you think? Is the movie that Arnold played is the best role ever and his most well known for. We asked tough questions here. Yeah, we asked the tough question here.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think that I think that that Predator, you know what I'm saying, set him off, man. Early know early on. Predator and Commando. I think when those two movies came out when he played those two movies, man, you know, movies just started coming in left and right. You know, Commando and Predator.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:I think his best role he probably ever played. I'm gonna say it's probably Terminator 2, because there's not too many sequels to movies that have that have been said to be better than the original. You could argue maybe Top Gun, The Godfather, and maybe Terminator. But I think Arnold, like the way he flipped him his character from one to two, um, you know, was was pretty great. So I think his best acting movie he's ever done is Terminator 2.
SPEAKER_04:I gotcha. Be frank.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so you you know, I think Terminator's probably the role that made him the most popular, but I go back to my earlier comment. Um, you know, when he did True Lies, his role was Harry Tasker, where he was kind of the secret agent and then uh, you know, a family man by day. It really showed all of his action as well as his, you know, kind of comedic chops as well. Uh, you know, which that's kind of what he's known for, right? He's been known for doing a little bit of everything. Um, he did the action and he did the comedy there. It's Harry Tasker in Two Lives. Okay. Cole.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, uh I mean, I think personally, I think his most well-known role is probably Terminator, right? Everybody does the I'll be Bach, you know. Uh my favorite, obviously, is when he does comedy stuff as well. Um, I think that his blend and his ability to be able to make fun of himself is fantastic. So uh my favorite role is obviously uh him and last action hero for that reason. I just it's just such a fun movie, making fun of like 90s action movies, making fun of himself. Like it's just and the fact that he had a rivalry with uh uh Sylvester Stall, like it's just such a a fun film. So yeah, that's my favorite.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, that for me, um I I I gotta say Terminator, Terminator 2. Yeah. I I I I lean one because of the the I'll be back and everyone knowing that line. Uh, but kind of like what Fitty was saying, the flip. I mean, you can argue the expendables uh for some of the newer stuff that a lot of people know for, and just how long that series went with the expendables, um, and having sequel after sequel after sequel uh with that one. But I I'd have to say that the Terminators uh for me would be what he's most well known for. Everyone knows that one, and every everyone quotes those movies too to an extent. And yeah, I think I gotta go Terminator. But Cole, what would be his worst movie in your opinion?
SPEAKER_00:Oh man, that's hard. I don't um I mean there's there's some rough ones out there, right? Like I'm I'm thinking of uh some of his later stuff. Like uh I I saw a movie, I think it was called The Sixth Day, which was mediocre, it wasn't great, but it was like whatever. I think just like at a certain point when you kind of hit those 2000s, uh it it took a little bit of a dive, I think, with a lot of actors that are based off of their looks. Um, you know, and it's not really his acting chops per se. Like he's a great, he's a fun actor, but he's not like a great actor by any means. But I think it's uh probably the latter stuff, the latter stuff that he did. Um, younger-wise, I mean, Conan is ridiculous, and he's not great in Codan. It's just such a fun movie, though. So I don't know. Yeah, probably the latter stuff, like the sixth day. I didn't really enjoy that.
SPEAKER_04:I gotcha. D. Frank, I saw you waving your arms up, so like you have one in mind that's obvious. What do we got?
SPEAKER_03:There's only one answer to this question, Mike, and and I'm sorry if I'm gonna take this from everybody else, but his turn is Mr. Freeze and Batman and Robin might be the worst movie in history. Um, it's it it it set the Batman series back uh a decade and took a Christopher Nolan uh um you know remake in order to make it happen. It's Batman and Robin. His Mr. Freeze was awful. You're not wrong on that.
SPEAKER_04:What about Freddie? What about you?
SPEAKER_01:I'm gonna say because like I'm gonna I don't know if many people have seen this, but it's called End of Days. And the thing is, like, I actually like I like those let me say this the right way. I don't like demonic movies like The Exorcist, but I like like movies like End of Days, like someone's possessed, and you have a good guy fighting a bad guy, whatever, whatever. It's stuff that's not real, right? Like fallen with Denzel Washington, same thing. So I like I like end of days, but he is not an end of days actor, like fighting the devil on earth who's trying to have the antichrist born. You know, it's just not his jam, right? Like, I mean, Gabriel Burns in it, Kevin Polak's in it, but you're getting a lot of like demonic possession, cult stuff, the Catholic Church. Like, it's very far-fetched, you know, and he's like a man who lost his faith. It's just not his jam. It's just not his jam in that, and I just don't think he fit the part. I think he probably played a better Mr. Freeze in this in the sixth day than he did in uh than he did in end of days, like fighting the devil on earth. So I gotta go end of days, even though I do like the movie, is it was a bad acting job by him.
SPEAKER_02:I got you, Mr. What about you? Man, I tell you what, man. You uh you thought about Batman Robin? Oh my gosh, that just made me think about and um you're right. I mean, that's that's one I was like, god, he could have passed that one up. Um but that one, I mean, the Batman Robin, the inner days, and then another one is uh, I think it's called um I think it's called Maggie, or it's something he had a daughter who's who's uh have a virus or something, like in the world type deal. You know, so I can't think of the name of the movie, but that one was was kind of um, you know, it was like okay, you know, you know, he he's searching, or you know, he's just trying to fill time.
SPEAKER_04:But I think if we're if we're forgetting the names of the movies, like yeah, that's definitely gotta be up there as one of the worst.
SPEAKER_02:If you can't even remember the name of the movie, like yeah, I was like, um, I was like, oh my gosh, yeah, it was pretty, yeah. But in the days, and I and you know what? And I might have watched In the Days maybe once, and I don't think I've watched watched, I don't think I ever watched that whole movie.
SPEAKER_04:I I've never watched it, so um that that would put it up there for me because I've never watched it, but uh D Frank, you know, with the Batman Rob, Mr. Freeze, I forgot all about that. Um, and I'm a huge Batman fan, um, for sure. Um that's called Repressed Memories, yeah. Yeah, because that just sparked that back up for me. Now I'm thinking of the lines from it, and they're coming back to me after you mentioned it, and it's just awful. It's it was a terrible acting job for that, but yeah, thank God they saved that.
SPEAKER_01:Wasn't it the one with George Clooney?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, that was Clooney.
SPEAKER_01:George George Clooney and uh Jim Carrey. Jim Carrey is the ruler. Um was Uma Thurman in that one too, or she in the other one.
SPEAKER_03:The only thing from that entire movie that that partially redeemed it was the soundtrack was fair at best. Oh, seal. Yeah, the seal.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, the soundtrack was awesome for that one, but the acting by Arnold was just oh yeah, it was terrible.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, and who played Robin? What was his name? Chris Chris O'Donnell.
SPEAKER_04:O'Donnell, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So in reality, the cast is actually pretty good if you think about it.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, the casting's great.
SPEAKER_01:The acting, like, because I mean you have like George Clooney, you have Schwarzenegger of Uma Thurman, you know, Chris O'Donnell, Jim Carrey. Like, it's not a bad cast if you really think about it, but yeah, the acting was pretty, but the acting was bad. Acting was terrible.
SPEAKER_02:I think they I think they was all high when they when they made that movie. Every single last one of them was high.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Yeah. I'll back that. Yeah, a thousand percent. Absolutely on that one. Uh Mister. Uh, what does where does Arnold rank amongst uh the best overall actors of all time, in your opinion?
SPEAKER_02:Top 100. Yeah. Top 100.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I I think people know my top 10. We've talked about that before. He's definitely not top 20. I would say because of his range, like I think his range is good. Like, he's done comedy, he's on action, the devil movie, Conan. You know, he did the movie. Um uh it was like his first movie. Um whatever, and he was the Greek god. Um, that one, like from the late 60s, early 70s. Um not Adonis. Um, anyways, whatever. He did that one. So he has a lot of range. I don't know. I would probably put him like mid-30s, like 35, 36 actor of greatest actor of all time. Because I mean, it's really hard to crack a top 20 level top 10. So I put him like 35 because of his range.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, yeah, I think that's fair. He's like 40 to 50 for me. Um on my list. Yeah, he's top 50. I'll give him that, but yeah, I'm not going any any higher than 40 for sure. Uh D Frank, what about you?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I mean, I think top 50 just simply because of his cultural relevance all the way around. Uh, his acting chops, while not great, are memorable. And anybody that can make the movie Junior uh where he plays a pregnant guy and get away with it, you know, you gotta have in the top 50. Absolutely. Cole, what about you?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think uh top 50, but he is my favorite uh action star. He's my favorite action actor of all time. So um, you know, me personally, I put him in my top 20 and my own personal favorite actors, but I think like you guys have been saying, his cultural rev relevance is super important and his ability to you know play comedy and action, it's gotta put him pretty high up there overall.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I mean, like I said, yeah, top 50 is is fair, we'll we'll say. Um mainly, but mainly because Mr. Free sent him back like 25 spots, uh for sure. Um, but yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Arnold, the movie, the movie I was talking about is Hercules in New York, 1970. Yeah, it's like when he could barely, barely speak English. Um, and he came over, and there's a scene in that he's like throwing the discus, he like takes his shirt off, and it's like when you're talking about Arnold 55 years ago, so he's like 23 years old, he's like the hugest he ever was. He like takes his shirt off and he like then he like throws a discus and the guy's just like looking at it and he's like his like mouth is like hanging up. He throws it like I don't know, it's like I mean he's Hercules, he threw it like 500 yards or something like that in the movie. Um, but yeah, the Hercules in New York. If you guys have never seen it, please watch it, it's hilarious.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, that yeah, I think those are all fair rankings for sure. Uh, but Cole, we're gonna round out the show with this one here. Uh, do you think Arnold or Stallone was a bigger movie icon in the 80s and 90s? Not considering the 2000s or the present day, just the 80s or the 90s.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, I've I've already said when we did the Stallone show, I already said Schwarzenegger was bigger. Um yeah, we thought about that.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, we fought about that.
SPEAKER_00:Uh-huh. But he is. I mean, most known worldwide, it's gonna be Schwarzenegger over Stallone all day. And I love Stallone, like I love Rocky, love those movies, but when you look at like what they did throughout their career movies, it's gotta be it's gotta be Schwarzenegger.
SPEAKER_04:Okay, DeFrank, what about you?
SPEAKER_03:Uh yeah, I don't know. I think um, you know, from an acting standpoint, I'm gonna go Stallone only because I feel like Rocky has more cultural relevance than some of the science fiction movies that Arnold's done. But I think if you look at the total breadth of what uh uh Arnold's done as an actor, as uh a politician, and and altogether, I you you know it's really, really, really tough. As an actor, though, Stallone.
SPEAKER_04:Stallone. All right, Pitty, I think I know where you're going with this.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you know what? If we're looking at the 80s and 90s, like here's the thing Rocky I and Rocky II were in the 70s. So yours hawking Rocky III, four, and five, and then you're getting the like with Stallone, like, I mean, a bunch of things, but like you think of like Demolition Man, you think of like Assassins with Antonio Banderas, you think of like Cliffhanger, you think of like Daylight, you know, so you start thinking about that. Like, I mean, I think Stopper My Mom Will Shoot might have been in the 90s as well. You know, so you're thinking of that, and then the and then uh the Rambos, right? That's probably what Stallone was best known for, probably in that time, more than Rocky III, four, and five, because they kind of got stupid at various points, even though I love Rocky. But you had like Arnold doing like this plethora of different genres where like Stallone just either played like an actor or a guy that was getting blown up and then coming back and just like whooping your ass. So, like, I don't know, Arnold had like a different range. So, you know me. I mean, I love Sylvester Stallone. That is my home home guy till the I die. Like that I love him to death. Um, but I would probably say Arnold was more well known as an actor in the 80s and 90s because he played more diverse roles, and also Stallone, some of Stallone's stuff was pretty far-fetched. Like, if anyone from anime remembers Rambo III when he got shot in the side and he blew a hole through his side to like cauterized a wound. I mean, no one does that, right? Like, like no one, no one blows a hole up in their side to like to cauterize cauterize a wound. Um, you know, and the movie Daylight was very, very far-fetched when he like blew a hole in the bottom of the the river to come up through New York City. And then, like, um, and then like in the movie Cliffhanger, like he's like shooting someone with a uh with a gun underneath the ice, and he came out, no hypothermia, hair is completely slicked back, like so. He like did some like very far-fetched stuff where Arnold did more realistic stuff. So I'll give Arnold a nod. It was long-winded, but you know, we're on the Ride Home Rants podcast, and I'm just kind of ranting about bad Stallone movies.
SPEAKER_04:Got you, Mister.
SPEAKER_02:What about you? Oh man, just give me the predator, man. Give me the predator, I'll take the predator. Uh that goddamn Junior, though, man, that kind of just messed it up for me for a long time when he did Junior. You know, yeah, it it it's you ain't see Rambo doing that stuff, though. He don't got no movies like that, huh? No. Mr.
SPEAKER_03:You're you're forgetting about an excellent uh film from Stallone, Tango and Cash.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my gosh, yes, Tango and Cash was absolutely that was good. That was a good one.
SPEAKER_01:That was a game for sure. Bono, here's another one. I just thought about this too. I'm pretty sure someone can fact check me on this, but The Predator could be the only movie in the history of cinema that had two future governors of the United States in it, Jesse the Body Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger. And I would want somebody to challenge me on that one.
SPEAKER_04:That's a good point. Yeah, we're we're gonna have to look this up off the air and figure this out for you. Um I'm not sure uh for that one. Uh for me. I made a lot of good points for for Arnold in that one, but I still gotta give the nod to Stallone uh for that one. Um mainly, you know, the Rambos and the uh the Rockies that he was, just because those movies set up the Creed series in the present day and everything like that, too, as well, with the Rockies. So it's moved other actors on um in their careers and everything like that with Michael B. Jordan playing Creed. Um, but yeah, I gotta give a nod to Stallone, mainly because I can understand him more in his earlier stuff than I could Arnold, uh, with the both of their them having pretty thick accents, uh, for sure. Um but yeah, for me that that that's that's where I'm going around the this Arnold show with saying Stallone was better in the 80s and 90s uh for them, and that is going to do it for this week's episode of the Ride Home Brands Podcast. I want to thank all of my guests, Mr. Cole, D. Frank, and Freddy, for joining the show, getting to talk all things Arnold Schwarzenegger for this one. It was a lot of fun, uh, a lot of nostalgia with some older movies and everything like that. And as always, if you enjoyed the show, be a friend, tell a friend. If you didn't, tell them anyways, because they might like it just because you didn't. That's gonna do it for me, and I will see y'all next week.
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