Last summer, I tried to describe to my daughter what it was like for me to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I completely failed at that attempted explanation.

I did my best to tell her how this guy was, for years, the biggest movie star in the world.  I told her how Schwarzenegger’s being in a movie made it something that I and all of my friends absolutely had to see when I was growing up (and don’t think I’m not seeing “Terminator: Genisys” as soon as possible this summer) but it wasn’t something I think she really got.  She understood the words, but I couldn’t quite get at the feeling.

I have spent a long time trying to understand how it is I failed at explaining this to her, and I think I have an answer.  I think that there simply isn’t anyone currently in movies or on television who is quite the same as Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I am not sure anyone ever will be again, and my not being able to offer her a reference made the explanation difficult.

It strikes me now that I should have tried something like, “It’s not like meeting one of the actors who plays someone in ‘The Avengers,’ it’s like meeting one of the Avengers.”  That may actually have worked.

Recently for IGN, I got the chance to sit down with Mr. Schwarzenegger once more.  Embedded below are the results of that conversation with the man himself and Joely Richardson about their latest movie, “Maggie.”  If you watch, you’ll see that I admit one of my fears to the two of them and I think Richardson’s response (this occurs just after the four minute point) really explains the above perfectly.

http://widgets.ign.com/video/embed/content.html?url=http://www.ign.com/videos/2015/05/08/maggie-arnold-schwarzenegger-joely-richardson-interview

photo credit: Roadside Attractions

Categories: Random Thoughts

Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joely Richardson, Maggie