Arnold Schwarzenegger Isn't The Only Batman Star To Have A Pet Pig

Besides being a prolific movie star and accomplished politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger is also a well-known animal lover with plenty of exotic pets.

Though he is best known as a prolific movie star and accomplished politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger is also a pet lover with plenty of exotic animals in his menagerie, including a pig. The Austrian-born actor first rose to prominence in the 1980s in films like The Terminator and Conan the Barbarian, and he quickly became one of the biggest stars of the decade. Even a successful stint as the Governor of California did little to tarnish his reputation as a world-class actor, and he continues to enjoy great success on the large and small screen as an elder statesman of action cinema.

While it came later in Schwarzenegger's acting career, his turn as Mr. Freeze in 1997's Batman & Robin was yet another feather in his cap as he played a recognizable DC Comics character. Besides acting, Schwarzenegger's love of animals is also well-known, and he even drew inspiration from a Batman & Robin costar when picking out another pet to add to his growing farm of beloved animals. Though Batman & Robin typically ranks near the bottom of the numerous Batman movies, it was a generally positive experience for Arnold Schwarzenegger because it sparked his love of pigs as pets.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger was already an animal lover by the time he was cast in Batman & Robin, but it was his co-star George Clooney that first tipped him off to the wonder of owning a pig as a pet. Clooney starred in the film as the Caped Crusader himself and the two apparently bonded while shooting the late 1990s blockbuster from director Joel Schumacher. According to Dispatch, Clooney talked about his pet pig enough to inspire Schwarzenegger to go out and get his own porcine friend. Of Clooney's pig, Schwarzenegger said "I always liked that he was into pigs; he has this little pig that he takes everywhere".

Clooney's close relationship with his pet pig Max was the stuff of Hollywood legend, and he would often bring the pig around with him to work on many movie sets. As reported by The Guardian, Clooney's pet pig Max was so important to him that he often came between Clooney and his personal relationships. Unfortunately, Max passed away in 2006 at the age of 18. While some pot-belly pigs can live up to 25 years old, Max's 18 years was a full long life for a pig.

Inspired by Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger became a pet pig owner around the time that Batman & Robin was released, but apparently, the prolific animal lover got his pig species mixed up. In the aforementioned piece from Dispatch, Schwarzenegger rushed out to get a pig without realizing that he had purchased the wrong type. As a result, Bacon soon grew to well over 300 pounds and thus unmanageable as far as pets go. Undeterred, Schwarzenegger tried again with his cloven-hooved companions and purchased another pig in 2023. According to People, Arnold Schwarzenegger added Schnelly to his growing family, whose name is derived from "chnell" which means "fast" in German.

Dalton is a freelance writer, novelist, and filmmaker from Orlando Florida. He currently lives in Los Angeles and pursues writing full-time. He is an avid reader and film buff who also publishes novels on the side. Dalton graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BFA in Film and he often applies his industry-specific knowledge when writing about film and television. Along with his blog, Dalton's critical essays on film have been published in various places online.