A Decade of Documentation
Dian Hanson spent 11 years compiling 'Arnold,' a massive photographic archive documenting the life and career of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The project began shortly after he left the California governor's office in 2011. What started as a limited collector's edition evolved into a 528-page, 9.5-pound volume now available for a wider audience. The book tracks his trajectory from Austrian bodybuilder to Hollywood icon and public servant.
Hanson, a longtime editor at Taschen, faced the task of organizing thousands of images. These include work from renowned photographers like Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, and Robert Mapplethorpe. She navigated Schwarzenegger’s personal archives and tracked down rare materials, including a series of nude portraits taken by Francesco Scavullo that had effectively disappeared from public view for decades. The discovery of these photos required a search through an expansive, uncatalogued New York storage unit.
Life at the Schwarzenegger Home
Interviews for the project occurred primarily at Schwarzenegger’s 14,500-square-foot Los Angeles estate. Contrary to expectations of a celebrity lifestyle, Hanson found the actor spent most of his time in the kitchen or by an outdoor fire pit. His daily routine includes caring for a menagerie of animals, including a miniature horse, a miniature donkey, a miniature pig, and several dogs. This behavior reflects a grounded connection to a rural past, persisting despite his extreme fame.
Schwarzenegger proved a willing participant in the archival process. Hanson describes him as a natural entertainer who frequently uses character voices and sound effects during conversations. He also displayed a compulsive tendency to collect. This habit is evident in his possession of numerous movie props and his habit of purchasing large quantities of cowboy boots. Hanson links this behavior to his childhood in Austria, where he often received broken hand-me-downs from his brother. Accumulation serves as a psychological response to early material deprivation.
The Professional and Private Persona
Beyond his physical presence, Hanson identifies a unique magnetism in Schwarzenegger. She describes his eyes as possessing a laser-like focus that draws people toward him. During the production of the 1990 film 'Kindergarten Cop,' his demeanor shifted from the solitary pursuit of self-interest to a genuine enjoyment of others. He frequently spent breaks playing with his young co-stars, a marked change from his earlier focus on bodybuilding competition.
This shift toward altruism is less documented in photographs because of his preference for anonymity in charity work. Hanson found it significantly harder to locate images of his humanitarian efforts—such as distributing Thanksgiving turkeys in Boyle Heights—than it was to find his nude photos. He rarely alerted the press to his philanthropic activities, preferring to keep these endeavors separate from his public image. The resulting book serves as an exhaustive study of a man whose public persona is often eclipsed by the sheer volume of his personal history.