Seven times Mr. Olympia, five times Mr. Universe. Terminator and Governator. Real estate and Hollywood billionaire. The rags-to-riches story of Arnold the Austrian who came from a small village and a poor rural family and made it big in the land of then-unlimited possibility is a unique one, even by the standards of the everything-is-possible-in-the-best-sense-of-the-word spirit that permeated America in the late 1960s and 1970s. What this unlikely hero from one of the smallest European countries has achieved in his 75 years is unheard of, has never been copied, and will most likely go down in the annals of showbusiness and politics as the exception rather than the rule.

When Bob Rafelson (whom he paid touching tribute to upon his passing) cast him in Stay Hungry, the cornerstone of his career was laid. Arnold Schwarzenegger received the Best Newcomer Golden Globe in 1977 and became a superstar with the Conan, and subsequently, the Terminator franchises.

Arnold, and yes, we may call him by his first name as he insisted even when he became Governor of “Caahlifooarnia” in 2003, has always known how to sell himself, how to make the best of what he had and what he could do to improve. In a weird way, there was never much difference between his movie campaigns and his political ones. He agrees, as he told the HFPA in 2004, recounting his run for the highest job in the state. “When our state went downhill in such a dramatic way . . . I felt like the only way we can change that is by having a recall election and for me to go in as candidate. Now this was, of course, a radical idea because who would think that an actor from Hollywood, or from Austria, would ever get elected, but I had total confidence in my ability to campaign. As you all know, I’m always very good in promoting and selling to the people my ideas of movies, philosophies, and in this case, becoming Governor of this state. And the people bought in, the people flexed their muscles at the polls last October 7th. They said we are mad as hell, and we don’t take it any longer and they sent me to Sacramento.”

By all accounts, he seemed to enjoy himself for the next seven years. He tried and mostly succeeded in bringing both parties to the table, and he was certainly instrumental in making California the leading state for green energy in the US. Since his term, California has reduced 25% of greenhouse gases and went from14% of renewable energy to 50%, passed the Green Building Initiative and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The protection of our environment in the face of drastic climate change may just be his greatest love.

After his stint in politics, Schwarzenegger returned to Hollywood. But in recent years his activism seemed to grow while his interest in making more sequels to already existing franchises seemed to wane. His website and social media are filled with his passions – feeding his donkeys Whiskey and Lola, delighting in his grandchildren, and smoking cigars with old buddies like Sly Stallone and Tom Arnold. And speaking of his offspring, he is clearly proud of all five of his kids, daughters Katherine and Christina, a bestselling author and a documentary filmmaker; and his three sons, Christopher the college graduate from the University of Michigan, and the two who stepped into their father’s footsteps – Patrick, who is building an impressive acting career and can recently be seen in The Staircase with Colin Firth, and Joseph who is training to become a bodybuilder.

As for his own Hollywood career, “I’ll be back,” the often-quoted line from The Terminator has been true over and over. He returned again and again, but not in a repetitive way. He has reinvented himself over and over, has kept an open mind and changed his views, never looked back but always forward, and will continue to do so. If we could venture a guess, it is this one: his biggest legacy may not be box office records and his bodybuilding titles. It may just be his continued fight for the planet. And on that front, he still has a lot to do.