You’ve seen the photo. It’s 1983 on the set of Conan the Destroyer. In the middle stands Arnold Schwarzenegger, looking strangely small, flanked by two literal titans: Wilt Chamberlain and Andre the Giant. It looks like a photoshop job from a pre-internet era, but it’s completely real.
Most people assume these guys just shared a movie set for a few months. Honestly, it was way more than that. It was a friendship built on mutual respect between the world's most successful bodybuilder and the world's most famous "Eighth Wonder."
They were outcasts in a way.
Think about it. Arnold was the "Austrian Oak," a man with a physique so extreme he was often seen as more machine than human. Andre was André René Roussimoff, a man whose acromegaly made him a giant among men. When they walked into a room together, the energy shifted. Nobody looked at them like normal people. Except, of course, for each other.
Why Andre the Giant and Arnold Schwarzenegger Still Matter Today
The dynamic between these two wasn't just about PR. It was about two guys who understood what it meant to be "too big" for the world. Arnold, standing at a peak height of around 6'2" (though he’s often joked about being shorter in recent years), was dwarfed by Andre. Andre was billed at 7'4", though real-world measurements and the toll of his condition likely put him closer to 7'0" or 7'1" by the mid-80s.
Even so, the weight difference was staggering. Arnold was a lean 235-250 pounds of sculpted muscle. Andre was a massive 500-plus pounds.
The Famous Dinner Story
Arnold loves telling this one.
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One night while filming in Mexico, the crew went out to dinner. Arnold, being the lead of the film and a burgeoning superstar, decided he was going to be the "big man" and pay the bill. He tried to sneak away to the waiter to settle the tab.
He didn't get far.
Andre saw him. He didn't argue. He didn't shout. He simply walked over, grabbed Arnold by the back of his shirt and his belt, and lifted him into the air.
"I pay," Andre said.
He then deposited the world’s greatest bodybuilder onto a high piece of furniture—some accounts say a sideboard or a credenza—like a "little doll." Arnold sat there, legs dangling, while Andre calmly walked to the register and paid.
Imagine being the guy who won seven Mr. Olympia titles and having another man treat you like a toddler. That was the reality of being friends with Andre.
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The Bond on the Set of Conan
While Arnold was the face of the Conan franchise, Andre's role was more... disguised. He played Dagoth, the horn-headed monster at the end of the film. He wasn't even credited for the role, which seems wild today, but that was just how the industry worked back then for "suit actors."
Working together in the heat of Mexico created a tight bond.
- Mutual Protection: Andre was notoriously generous but also protective of his "inner circle."
- The Wilt Factor: Wilt Chamberlain was also there, and according to Arnold, Wilt was the one who usually tried to avoid the bill. Andre and Arnold would joke about Wilt's "frugality" compared to Andre's legendary hospitality.
- Training Life: Arnold was famously disciplined, waking the cast up early to hit the gym. Andre? Not so much. Andre’s "workout" was his life, and his diet was legendary—often consuming over 10,000 calories a day in alcohol alone to manage the constant pain in his joints.
The Contrast of Bodies
It’s fascinating to look at how they approached their "size." Arnold spent every waking hour sculpting his. He was an architect of his own skin.
Andre had size thrust upon him.
His acromegaly was a death sentence he lived with every day. He didn't "work out" in the traditional sense; he was just naturally, terrifyingly strong. Arnold has often remarked that he never felt more like a "regular guy" than when he was standing next to Andre. It gave him a perspective on fame and physicality that few others could offer.
The Legacy of the "Eighth Wonder" and the "Oak"
Andre passed away in 1993. Arnold went on to become the Governor of California and a global icon. But if you watch interviews with Arnold today, his face still lights up when Andre’s name comes up.
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He doesn't talk about the wrestling matches or the box office numbers. He talks about the guy who would pick him up to stop him from paying for dinner.
People often get wrong the idea that these guys were rivals. There was zero ego. How could there be? When you’re both at the absolute top of your respective physical niches, there’s nothing to prove. They just enjoyed the company of the only other people on the planet who knew what it felt like to have the whole world staring at you.
Moving Beyond the Myth
If you want to truly appreciate the history of these two, don't just look at the memes.
- Watch the 1984 film: Go back and look at Conan the Destroyer. Knowing Andre is inside that Dagoth suit changes how you see the final battle.
- Read "Total Recall": Arnold’s autobiography goes into much more detail about the "Golden Era" of his life and the characters he met along the way.
- Check the HBO Documentary: The Andre the Giant documentary features Arnold giving first-hand accounts that are much more "human" than the tabloid stories.
The friendship of Andre the Giant and Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't a PR stunt. It was a genuine connection between two men who were, quite literally, too big for the world they lived in.
To dig deeper into the actual logistics of Andre's life, you should look into the specific medical realities of acromegaly and how it influenced his drinking habits, which are often joked about but were actually a form of self-medication. Understanding the pain he was in makes his "gentle giant" persona and his friendship with Arnold even more impressive.
Actionable Takeaway for Fans
If you're researching this duo for a project or just out of curiosity, prioritize primary sources. Look for Arnold's specific video interviews from the mid-2010s where he recounts these stories in his own voice. The nuance in his tone reveals a lot more than a transcribed blog post ever could. Seek out the behind-the-scenes photography from the Mexico set of Conan—many of these candid shots were only released decades later and show the true, unscripted chemistry between the cast.