Just Arnold Schwarzenegger doing his best Stewie Griffin impression
Arnold Schwarzenegger never fails to surprise. Even after seeing him chase a mini-pony on his bicycle or rap on inspirational songs, the bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-politician-turned-farm-animal-wrangler can still put out material that we never saw coming. Here, for example, is a clip from Arnold’s official YouTube channel in which he supplies Family Guy with a newly dubbed Stewie Griffin performance.
The premise alone may seem like it offers a good-enough understanding of what to expect, and yet there is still clear, irrefutable magic in Arnold’s line reads that must be seen and heard firsthand to be truly appreciated. He shouts “Lewis! Lewis! Lewis!,” lunging at the screen with each pronunciation of Lois Griffin’s name. He appears lost in the nuance of the scene as he recites staccato repetitions of “Mahm!,” “Mommy!,” and “Mah-ma!” The large septuagenarian Austrian shown on screen eventually disappears, melding entirely with the cartoon baby as they both giggle at their own actions.
Why is Arnold Schwarzenegger on a video call where he’s reading Family Guy lines, you may ask yourselves. How did the unpredictable pathways of normal life lead us to this unexpected destination? Digg says the performance was “an Easter egg bonus” from Arnold’s newsletter, but that explanation doesn’t seem sufficient.
Either Arnold is a big fan of the show, and wanted to honor it with a performance of his favorite scene or his personal assistants quite rightly understood that one of the few avenues of performance the man still hasn’t explored is pretending to be a famous animated baby. Whatever the reason, this video leaves a very strong impression, and an interest in an entirely Schwarzenegger-voiced Family Guy reboot that we would never, ever have known we wanted before today.
[UPDATE, 5/21 @ 1:14 p.m CT: Schwarzenegger’s Chief Of Staff Daniel Ketchell tells us the above clip is an outtake from the actor’s Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance last month, where he also provided the world with his Bart Simpson, Tweety Bird, and Ariel impressions.]
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