Arnie's Hitler praise

Arnold Schwarzenegger's political ambitions were dealt a fresh blow when it was revealed he once spoke admiringly of Hitler.

In a previously unpublished interview, the star praised the Nazi leader when asked to name his heroes.

He said: "I admired Hitler because he came from being a little man with almost no education, up to power. I admire him for being such a good public speaker and for what he did with it."

The star, whose father was in the Nazi party, is already facing accusations that he groped six women, including a British TV host.

Schwarzenegger, 56, yesterday admitted some of the allegations were true. He said: "I've done things I thought playful that I now recognise have offended."

With five days before Californians vote, the Terminator star is facing his worst publicity in a campaign to be the state's Republican governor.

The Austrian-born actor's comments on Hitler were made in 1975, after he shot to fame as a champion bodybuilder in the documentary Pumping Iron.

Pumping Iron director, George Butler, quotes Schwarzenegger verbatim in an unpublished book.

He quotes the star as saying he wishes he could experience being the centre of attention at a Nazi rally "like Hitler at the Nuremberg Stadium and have all those people scream at you and being in total agreement whatever you say".

Schwarzenegger has been criticised in the past for defending his friend and former UN Secretary General Kurt Walheim after it was revealed he was linked to Nazi atrocities.

The actor said yesterday he could not remember the interview. He added: "All I can tell you is I despise everything Hitler stood for, everything the Third Reich stood for."