WARREN BEATTY is considering a challenge to Arnold Schwarzenegger for the governorship of California next year in what could be a battle of the celebrities.

Speculation over Mr Beatty’s political ambitions began after he addressed a nurses’ union on Thursday. To wild applause and chants of “run, Warren, run”, Mr Beatty, a long-time liberal campaigner, promised to campaign against Mr Schwarzenegger’s “insulting and bullying” attacks on nurses, teachers and firefighters.

Mr Schwarzenegger, 58, a Republican and naturalised American who harnessed his Hollywood star appeal to win a “recall election ” victory two years ago, recently said that he would run again for the governorship. Polls show the one-time Mr Universe’s popularity’s to be dwindling, though the Austrian-born Mr Schwarzenegger still hopes to change the constitution so that he may one day be able to run for the White House.

Mr Beatty, 68, has been involved in politics since 1968, when he campaigned with Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated that year. He also supported Senator George McGovern.

When Bill Clinton left office, the actor was rumoured to be interested in the Democratic presidential nomination, but he ultimately did not run against Al Gore and Bill Bradley.

On Thursday Mr Beatty attacked the proposals of Mr Schwarzenegger to limit state spending and reduce the power of Democrats in the legislature. The proposals have encountered entrenched opposition, forcing the Governor to take the measures directly to voters with a special election in November.

Mr Schwarzenegger believes that his celebrity power will overwhelm the electorate. The involvement of Mr Beatty, however, could change that.

“Government is not showbusiness,” said Mr Beatty, as delegates of the union convention repeatedly interrupted him with standing ovations.

"Government by show, by spin, by cosmetics, by photo ops, by fake events, by fake crowds — that’s a mistake. Not facing facts is a mistake . . . And I'll tell you another mistake – going after the nurses. Nurses save our lives. They take care of us.”

The California Nurses Association has become one of Mr Schwarzenegger’s biggest political headaches after he tried to overturn the lower patient-staffing ratios at hospitals introduced by his predecessor, the Democratic Governor Gray Davis. Other public employee unions also reject Mr Schwarzenegger’s special election measures. They held a march and rally on Thursday to show their disapproval. Speakers at the event included representatives of California teachers and firefighters as well as nurses.

After his speech, Mr Beatty was asked by reporters if he was going to run for the governorship. He replied that it was “not the time for this conversation”, but pointedly did not rule it out.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Acting credentials: 39 films, including The Terminator (and its sequels), Predator, Conan the Barbarian and True Lies

First film appearance: as Hercules in Hercules in New York (1970)

Other half : In 1986 married the TV journalist Maria Shriver, niece of late President Kennedy

I’d Like to Thank . . . Won a Golden Globe for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture (even though debut was in Hercules in New York)

Winning glory: Junior Mr Europe, Mr World, IFBB Mr Universe, NABBA Mr Universe (four times) and Mr Olympia title (seven times)

Fitness test: At his bodybuilding peak, his chest was 57in, waist 34in, biceps 22in, thighs 28½in, calves 20in, and competition weight was 235lb (260lb off-season)

Success is sweet: Terminator 2: — Judgment Day (1991) took $204.8 million at box office

Bad moment: Last Hero grossed about $50 million, $10 million less than it cost to make

Politics: “To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say, ‘Don’t be economic girlie men!’"

On women: “Having chicks around is the kind of thing that breaks up the intense training. It gives you relief, and then afterward you go back to the serious stuff”

WARREN BEATTY

Acting credentials: 23 films, including Bugsy, Heaven Can Wait and Bulworth, which denounces corruption in US politics

First screen role: In TV sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959)

Other half: Settled down at 55, marrying Annette Bening, his co-star in Bugsy

I'd Like to Thank . . . Reds (1981), directed by Beatty and starring him as US Communist John Reed, won three Academy Awards. Bonnie and Clyde also earned him ten nominations

Winning glory: Lifetime Achievement award at the 2000 Oscars

Fitness test: Received ten offers of football scholarships after finishing high school

Success is sweet: Only person to be nominated twice for Oscars as a producer, director, writer and actor in the same film — for Reds and for Heaven Can Wait in 1978

Bad moment: 1987 comedy Ishtar, in which he sang his way through 26 songs, was a $40 million (£25 million) flop

On Politics: “Lenin said that people vote with their feet. Well, that’s what’s happening. They either go, or they don’t go. It’s all politics. It’s all demographics”

On women: “Marriage requires a special talent, like acting. Monogamy requires genius”

DEVIKA BHAT

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