Rainier Wolfcastle

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Image:Rainier.jpg Rainier Wolfcastle (voiced by Harry Shearer) is a fictional character featured in the television cartoon The Simpsons. He is a German-accented, musclebound actor obviously modelled on action film star and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (he even admits that he is the son of a Nazi). This is due not only to his physique and action-hero persona, but also to the fact that his ex-wife, who appeared in one episode, is named Maria (as in Schwarzenegger's wife Maria Shriver), and that he was seen at a gathering of members of the Quimby family, who are obviously modeled after the Kennedys. Wolfcastle is a veteran of many violent action movies, most notably the McBain series, but it is frequently suggested that his career is on the decline. He seems to battle frequently with weight problems, though tries to pass it off as something he is doing for a role (referencing Robert DeNiro's acting method, as in Raging Bull, in which he packed on the pounds to play a boxer on the skids).

Ironically enough, Arnold Schwarzenegger himself would (perhaps unknowingly) end up using one of McBain's one-liners in 1997's Batman and Robin. As the villain of the piece, Mr. Freeze, Schwarzenegger used several weather-related puns, including the expression "Ice to see you", which was a line also used by McBain in the 1993 Simpsons episode "Last Exit to Springfield."

The character was originally referred to both within the show and by the production team as McBain, taken from the fictional franchise of action films the character appeared in of the same name. However, for a short time The Simpsons could not use the McBain name due to the fact that a movie of the same name (unrelated to The Simpsons character) was released in 1991. During this time, the movie's producers refused to give Twentieth Century Fox and Matt Groening's production company clearance to use the "McBain" name, so the name of Rainier Wolfcastle was used to sidestep this. Later, the use of "McBain" as both Wolfcastle's alter-ego and continuing series of films returned to the show.

The name "Wolfcastle" probably refers to the Castle Wolfenstein series of computer games (which are set in Nazi Germany) or from the German town Wolfsburg, which means Wolf's castle, while "Rainier" is a spelling variant of Rainer, a common German given name. Also, "Rainier" is a common reference to Mt. Rainier, a large volcano approximately halfway between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Most Simpsons character names come from streets and landmarks near Portland, the hometown of Simpsons creator Matt Groening.

Rainier Wolfcastle has, in different Simpsons episodes, been a presenter at the Academy Awards, a spokesperson for the Powersauce energy bar, a celebrity judge in radio station KBBL's contest "How Low Will You Go" (along with Krusty the Klown and Madeleine Albright), and appeared on Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton. He was married to Maria Quimby in the past, and his daughter Greta dated Bart in one episode. Wolfcastle has also been seen attending meetings at Republican Party headquarters (perhaps a further reference to Schwarzenegger). He began his acting career as a child in a commercial for Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen-brand bratwurst in Austria.

Apart from the McBain series, Wolfcastle also played Radioactive Man in an ill-fated live-action movie version of that comic book series.

Although Rainier Wolfcastle appears to have political ambitions, as noted by his candidacy for mayor in the recall election of Mayor Diamond Joe Quimby, he has not yet attempted to run for the governor's seat currently held by 15-season incumbent Mary Bailey. This may have to do with his immigrant status, or his possibly scandal-ridden past.

Rainier is somewhere between 6' 2" and 6' 4".

1 Filmography
2 McBain Theme Song
3 Quotes
4 See also

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Filmography

Bloodletter IV (and presumably by extension Bloodletter, Bloodletter II and Bloodletter III)
License to Detonate (Licence to Kill parody)
On the Fatherland's Secret Police (On Her Majesty's Secret Service parody)
View to a Corpse (A View to a Kill parody)
You Have the Right to Remain Dead
Undercover Nerd
McBain: Let's Get Silly
Radioactive Man (film cancelled)(Supposedly based on the cancelled "Superman Lives" movie
Saving Irene Ryan (Saving Private Ryan parody)
Help, My Son Is A Nerd!
My Baby Is an Ugly Man (co-starring Rob Schneider)
The Incredible Shrinking McBain
Nudist Camp Commandant
McBain 4: Fatal Discharge
An untitled movie in which he plays a fat secret agent
Several porn movies