Arnold Schwarzenegger has been an action movie favorite for decades. He's also been the governor of California, but that's a long-past part of his resume that the actor seems to gloss over somewhat. It's not surprising, though; Arnold doesn't seem to be a huge fan of being in the big spotlight of Hollywood.
After his love child was publicized and then his marriage to Maria Shriver ended, Schwarzenegger seemed somewhat reluctant to really dive back into film and acting. He did make a big screen return, of course, as the Terminator.
But lately, Arnold's found other ways to keep in touch with his fans and keep himself busy. As early as 2015, Business Insider gave readers a rundown of Arnold's online activities, and he seems to have taken quite well to these newfangled social platforms the kids are using.
At that time, Business Insider talked about Arnold's prowess with Snapchat, his abilities to edit photos with Instagram, and how he arranged an advance screening of 'Terminator Genisys' via Reddit. Yep, Arnie is all about Reddit, according to Business Insider, and fans don't seem to mind, either.
At a Q&A session following his advance screening session, organized via Reddit, Arnold told fans that he thought the world of the platform. Why is it his favorite way of connecting with fans, though? Well, Arnold explained that he doesn't need the press to get messages out to his fans. Plus, chatting on Reddit allows him the chance to listen, too.
Schwarzenegger elaborated, "I love to listen to the reactions and everything like that, and I think this is a great form of communicating." Before the tech arrived, he explained, a press conference had to cover whatever information you wanted released. It was also a bit impersonal.
And current fans and followers know that Arnold likes personal. He even likes weirdly personal, sharing posts of himself and his mini donkey sharing breakfast, things that people never expected to see from The Terminator himself.
Why Reddit in particular, though? Arnold says it has strengthened his ties to his fans. He often posts videos on the platform, which tend to blow up via YouTube. Well, and he literally blew things up in one video, so maybe that helped.
Besides, Business Insider points out, Reddit is one of those places where things like politics and philanthropy run rampant, and Arnold's involved in both pursuits (politics especially). But mostly, he likes to "get feedback right away" from his fans, says the actor, because that way, he gets the truth rather than a studio executive feeding him what he wants to hear.
Further, he noted, "I like to hear the truth from the people rather than what the press's interpretation of the truth is which you all know, sometimes is a little distorted."
Note of caution, there, Arnold; people can lie on Reddit, too! But it seems like the actor has a fairly solid grasp on what to expect from his social media use, and fans are here for it.