Arnold Schwarzenegger was bruised black and blue filming 'The Last Stand'.

The 65-year-old actor says he was put through his paces in his first major role since leaving office as Governor of California in South Korean director Jee-woon Kim's thriller and felt it was an exhilarating return to form for his action hero credentials.

He said: ''From the beginning to the end I was punching, I was shooting, I was running, I was climbing, I was falling, I was kicked, I was beaten, I was in cars, I was in crashes... and it was from beginning to end.

''I did a lot of the chase scenes, a lot of the fast driving - I love driving fast. There was one chase scene through a cornfield, I'd never really seen a chase through a cornfield, but let me tell you, it is an experience as a driver.''

The muscular star would never have imagined he would be undertaking such physically demanding roles at his age, especially ones involving vertically-challenging stunts, but he soon found himself hanging upside down in a harness.

Arnold joked to FlicksandBits.com: ''After the Governorship, I felt I would have to ease myself back into action, one step at a time. But that is not what happened. I remember visiting a movie set as Governor and seeing one of the actors hanging upside down in a harness.

''A friend of mine asked me, 'Don't you miss that?' and I said, 'No, I'd rather be in Sacramento, surrounded by legislators who are not always on your side and can make things very difficult, but I'd rather do that than hang upside down on a harness. I just can't see myself ever doing that again.' Well, sure enough, in this movie I hang upside down on a harness!''