Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has personally commissioned at least three “heroic” bronze statues, which depict him in his body building prime.
The statues are all modelled on a smaller sculpture created in 1980 – the year Arnold won his seventh or olympia title – and cost around $200,000 each.
As many as seven of the statues will be made in total, with Tim Parks – the owner of TW Bronze, which is pouring the bronze for the statues – receiving a visit from Arnold. The Terminator star took a tour of Tim’s operation, and told him, “This is fantastic. This is fantastic,” upon seeing the statues of himself. He only requested one minor change be made – that its patina be made a little darker.
The first of the statues is being shipped to Thal in Austria, the town where Arnold was born, which houses a museum dedicated to him. The second is set for Columbus, ohio, where the Arnold Fitness Weekend – inspired by the star – is an annual event. The third statue Arnold will keep for himself.
When the subject of how many should be made in total, Tim suggested it “ought to be your number,” in reference to the seven or olympia titles Arnold earned from 1970 to 1975 and again in 1980, to which he replied, “Perfect”.
Arnold (64) is currently locked in a divorce battle with his wife, Maria Shriver, after it emerged he fathered a child with their housekeeper, oildred Baena. He has also moved back into acting, with roles line up in The Expendables 2 and is currently in talks to appear in independent film, Captive.
