Arnold Schwarzenegger built his career on blockbuster films like ‘The Terminator,’ ‘Predator,’ and ‘Conan the Barbarian.’ Television movies occupy only a tiny corner of his filmography, making one of his earliest acting roles particularly unusual.
Years before he became one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars, Schwarzenegger appeared in a little-remembered CBS biopic that connected him to another future television icon. In 1980, he portrayed bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, the father of future ‘Law & Order: SVU‘ star Mariska Hargitay, in the made-for-television biographical drama film ‘The Jayne Mansfield Story.’
Why Arnold Schwarzenegger Was A Natural Choice
CBS produced ‘The Jayne Mansfield Story’ as a biographical drama about the life of actress Jayne Mansfield, one of Hollywood’s most famous stars during the 1950s and 1960s. Loni Anderson took on the lead role, while the production needed someone convincing enough to play Mansfield’s second husband, Mickey Hargitay.
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Schwarzenegger proved an obvious fit. Like Hargitay, he was an immigrant bodybuilder who achieved international success before pursuing an entertainment career. Hargitay won the Mr. Universe title in the 1950s, moved to the United States, and eventually found fame alongside Mansfield.
The similarities were not lost on Schwarzenegger. Speaking years later, he explained that he admired Hargitay’s journey and viewed him as an inspiration.
“When I played Mickey Hargitay, I played Mickey Hargitay because I was a big admirer of Mickey Hargitay,” Schwarzenegger said. “I thought it was amazing that someone who comes from Hungary could win the Mr. Universe contest and then come to America with broken English and get married to Jayne Mansfield.”
That personal connection helped Schwarzenegger approach the role with genuine affection rather than simply treating it as another acting job.
One Of Schwarzenegger’s Earliest Acting Roles
At the time, Schwarzenegger had not yet become a major movie star. His breakthrough performances were still ahead of him, and ‘The Jayne Mansfield Story’ arrived during a period when he was searching for opportunities in Hollywood.
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The film followed Mansfield’s rise to fame, her marriage to Hargitay, and the challenges that eventually led to the couple’s divorce. While the production itself received mixed reviews, several critics singled out Schwarzenegger’s performance as a pleasant surprise.
The New York Times noted that he brought a “pleasant, unpretentious gentleness” to the role. That softer portrayal stood in contrast to the larger-than-life action heroes he would later become famous for playing.
Looking back, the project also serves as an interesting snapshot of Schwarzenegger before worldwide fame transformed him into one of the industry’s biggest stars.
The Connection To Mariska Hargitay
The role carries an added significance because of what happened after the events depicted in the film. Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield divorced in 1964. Three years later, Mansfield died in a car accident in Louisiana at the age of 34. Several of her children survived the crash, including three-year-old Mariska Hargitay.
Following Mansfield’s death, Mickey raised Mariska and her siblings. Decades later, Mariska would become a television star in her own right through her long-running portrayal of Olivia Benson on ‘Law & Order: SVU’.
Today, ‘The Jayne Mansfield Story’ remains largely forgotten, overshadowed by Schwarzenegger’s action classics and Mariska Hargitay’s television success. Yet it stands as a fascinating footnote in both careers, capturing a moment when a future action icon stepped into the role of a future TV legend’s father.
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