As much as I love Arnie (he's one of my favorite actors), and as much as I love "Pumping Iron" (it's my favorite documentary), I have to say, the man came off as very arrogant in it, don't you think?
Human beings ain't only just human, you know—they got animals living inside of ‘em, too. —U-Turn
I took it more as him being extremely confident in himself, which does often translate into arrogance on some level.
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Arnold was told by the filmmaker to act arrogant. He wanted the film to feature an arrogant champion and a humble, young, and up and coming challenger (Lou Ferrigno).
shareit was set up that way. originally they wanted arnold to be the nice one and lou to be the big, hulking jerk but they figured it would work out better if they switched it around and made lou the kind gentle giant underdog since he was newer to the competition.
shareArnie is naturally that way. They didn't have to set anything up. Anything else would have been an act. There was some rewriting of history and toning down his behavior in the film when he was serious about becoming a politician.
shareI believe this film is as close as you'll ever get to seeing the real Arnold.
shareIt wasn't an act. Arnie is infamous for being incredibly arrogant in real life.
"Whenever people agree, with me I always feel I must be wrong." - Oscar Wilde
I personally believe that it's 50% charisma and 50% his trying to be a character in the movie or "sell tickets" in carnival barker terms. Now keep in mind that I have never met the man, but I have watched the making of Pumping Iron and heard this and that over the years, and he was either told by the film makers to make his stories more interesting or he came up with stories and behaviors for certain scenes to make the movie more interesting. I personally believe that Arnold is playing a character of himself, because Lou Ferrigno was never really a threat to beat him, so Arnold had to assume the 'villian' role, they had to involve Lou'd father in his training and play up the poor deaf kid angle. I believe a few scenes here and there where he is giving interviews, showing that young guy how to pose, partying with the plate of chicken and the final scene with Lou on the bus was Arnold being Arnold. He actually seems like a pretty cool guy.
shareIf you've ever met him then you would realize that you are spot on about him. He is extremely arrogant and a bit of an *beep* He is extremely funny but at the expense of others, he will talk about how someone looks or talks in a comedic but insulting way, even women.
shareHe is an arrogant bastard but generally speaking, bodybuilders are. I know a couple and they come off as narcissistic, egotistical pricks but it does not come lightly, it is hard earned.
shareArnold was supposed to be the 'villain' in this, in fact it was his idea for him to be the antagonist of sorts. the EDITING obviously reflects that
I thought he was charming for the most part. again, when the project was delayed Arnold is known to have thought it would be a great idea for him to get the more villianous portrayal in terms of how the film was edited
don't take it to heart, again it was deliberately done to make the 'documentary' more interesting
If i go crazy will you still call me Superman?