Wladmir Klitschko: No plans to be a movie action hero like Arnold Schwarzenegger

Dubai: World heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko insists he has no plans to become a Hollywood movie action hero akin to his hero Arnold Schwarzenegger when he retires from the sport.

However, Klitschko and his elder brother Vitali have lent their backing to another star of Tinseltown, Sylvester Stallone, by co-producing ‘Rocky the Musical’.

This is based on the famous films starring Stallone as American boxer Rocky Balboa and opens in Broadway, New York, in February following its initial 2012 run in Hamburg, Germany.

Klitschko, who made a cameo appearance alongside fellow heavyweight boxing star Lennox Lewis in 2001 American comedy-crime film Ocean’s Eleven, said: “It’s very exciting. The musical is one of the best examples of being an underdog in life and eventually achieving a goal. It’s a love story — you’ve got to have love for what you do.”

He added: “Am I interested in becoming an action hero when I retire? I think there are enough wannabes in Hollywood. I’m not excited about putting myself in line [to do that]. I think there are some other guys who can do a better job than me as a movie action hero. I do have plans after my sports career, but there’s a saying ‘Don’t mention what you’re going to do, just do it and then you can talk about it’.”

His lack of interest in becoming a thespian did not, however, prevent him from trying to emulate Schwarzenegger via a photo he posted on the Klitschko Twitter feed last year.

Klitschko mimicked Schwarzenegger’s flexed muscle pose from the Austrian’s bodybuilding heyday and posted the message: “Trying to catch u since I’m 12.” In reply, Schwarzenegger tweeted: “Great shot! It’s fantastic to see one of my favorite champions nailing my pose.” He also posted a topless photo of himself doing a Klitschko impression in front of one of the boxer’s old fight posters.

Does Klitschko feel he has succeeded in achieving his idol’s impeccable physique of old?

“Unfortunately I didn’t succeed,” he said. “I was comparing myself to Schwarzenegger in his better days. I’m almost there but not as in great shape as Arnold Schwarzenegger was. He’s so ripped. I wanted to be like him since I was 12.”