I gather this is true for a lot of actors, whether they’re former big action stars or they’ve got a more critically admired dramatic history. Christopher Walken is much the same way: he does a lot of dreck but I’ve heard it said that he likes to wake up with a script in hand, he always wants to be working, and he makes the most of any project.
As for the original theme of this thread, I was a rabid consumer of big dopey action movies growing up and, I saw every, say, Van Damme movie that hit theatres for years. And there was definitely a stretch of a few years when suddenly, movies by these stars would suddenly bypass theatres, at least here in Canada, and you could almost feel that the earth had shifted under their feet. For Van Damme is was Replicant, for Stallone it was D-Tox, for Schwarzenegger it was Collateral Damage (which might have hit theatres here, but I can’t remember it), for Seagal it was The Patriot. Seagal later got a bit of a Joel Silver boost with Exit Wounds which may have been the last time a starring vehicle of his hit the big screen, but within the year was making a shit movie with Albert Pyun (Ticker), which is usually a sign that your career is on the rocks.
I really think this is the real answer to the OP’s question.
He’s going to basically need to transform into a… famous character actor? I mean, he’d be a great actor to play a sort of mentor to younger action stars. Kind of like Kristofferson’s Whistler to Snipes’ Blade. Or maybe as like a King Hrothgar type character to someone younger’s Beowulf. Roles where his fame and action movie stature would lend something to the movie, but where he’s not going to be the star.
Also, part of his absence was likely due to his governorship from 2003-2011. Based on what I can find, he only did bit parts/cameos in that stretch (Terminator 3 was filmed prior to his election), including the Expendables movies. I imagine it’s kind of hard to get back into the public eye when you’ve been out of movies for eight years and 64 years old. He’s done some, but he’s old and the action movie landscape has changed significantly- it seems to be centered around superheroes at the moment, which isn’t Arnold’s thing.
He did spend eight years as governor, during which Hollywood and a big chunk of his fanbase moved on. But even before then, his star was beginning to fade.
Terminator 3 came out the year he was elected governor, and while it was a hit, it wasn’t as successful as T2. Before T3, you have to go all the way back to True Lies, nine years before, to find another real blockbuster.
Agreed. People often wonder why a person who has made herself a millionaire still works her ass off, to make even more. I gather these people are millionaires / household names precisely because they love working their asses off in their chosen field. It’s what makes them tick. Why would they stop doing what means the most to them?