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Arnold Schwarzenegger has long been a patriot. The action star and politician celebrated his 40th anniversary as an American citizen by sharing a video filled with images taken over the course of his life, and some of his greatest achievements, including his tenure as governor of the state of California.
The video is made up of photos of Schwarzenegger posing alongside American icons like Sylvester Stallone, or wearing various iterations of red, white and blue. He includes images of himself taking the oath of U.S. Citizenship, which occurred in 1983, when he was 36 years old. There are also photos of himself when he was a young boy, as a voice over recorded by him discusses his childhood dream of visiting America and then his pride over having become a citizen. “On this day 40 years ago, I became an American citizen. It is one of the proudest days of my life,” he captioned the post. “I owe everything to America. Born in Austria, Made in America!”
“My fellow Americans, this an amazing moment for me. To think a once-scrawny boy from Austria could grow up to become governor of the state of California, that is an immigrant’s dream,” says the voiceover, which belongs to a speech he gave at the Republican’s National Convetion, in 2004. “In school when the teacher would talk about America, I would daydream about coming here. I would daydream about living here.”
“To my fellow immigrants listening tonight, I want you to know how welcomed you are. We encourage your dreams. We believe in your future,” he concluded his speech.
Schwarzenegger’s moving tribute to his Sensei
In August of this year, Schwarzenegger shared a touching tribute for his sensei Kiyoshi Yamazaki, who passed away recently. He credited Yamazaki for his stunts in “Conan the Barbarian,” the film that launched his career’s international success.
“Who knows if Conan would have been a success if Sensei Yamazaki didn’t make my swordplay realistic? He played an important role in my life, he was a dear friend, and my thoughts are with his family,” he wrote.