Once among the most public of men, Schwarzenegger has
appeared in public only sporadically in recent months. In the days after he
split with wife Maria Shriver, he told his talent agency to postpone his movie
projects. His Twitter account - once busy with posts and photos from afar -
fell out of use. He hired a divorce lawyer, and the former Hollywood star known
to crave the spotlight went into a self-imposed exile to sort out his family
problems.
That's been slowly changing. He started tweeting again in late June
when he traveled to his native Austria for an environmental conference, far
from his troubles in the US. Last month, he announced he will return to acting
with a starring role in the Lionsgate film "Last Stand."
Schwarzenegger will play a border-town sheriff who unwittingly finds himself
battling a notorious drug kingpin on the run. His appearance Thursday before a
business group at a downtown hotel is apparently his first public speech in
California since he acknowledged fathering his now teenage son with the former
maid Mildred Baena.
