Hollywood star and U.S. politician Arnold Schwarzenegger drew about 1,500 for a lunch speech in downtown Toronto, including rocker Gene Simmons.

Starting around noon Wednesday, Schwarzenegger, 63, spoke at an event moderated by former premier and ambassador Frank McKenna in downtown Toronto.

The Austrian-born actor and bodybuilder, who recently completed the maximum two terms allowed as California governor, has been on a speaking tour this month. In Calgary on Tuesday, he told the crowd that he would have loved to run for president.

However, the American Constitution does not allow those born outside of the U.S. to run for president.

Still, politics is now in his blood, he said.

"The most rewarding thing and the most enjoyable thing that I've ever done was being governor of the state of California because there's nothing like serving people," Schwarzenegger said Wednesday.

He also shared some wisdom about his approach to public office and life: be bold, even if it means offending a few people along the way.

"I call the legislators girly men. It maybe was the wrong thing to do when you're in public office... but the reason I called them girly men was because they were always afraid of everything."

Schwarzenegger was named Mr. Universe at the age of 20 and moved to the U.S. to pursue a career in acting. He most famously appeared in the "Terminator" movie series, as well as "Conan the Barbarian," "Total Recall" and "Twins."

He still has a ripped physique, and he told the crowd, who paid hundreds to hear the talk, to ditch cosmetic surgery in favour of healthy living.

"Forget the liposuction. Just stop eating the junk. Stop eating the bread...Stop eating dessert and all those kind of things and go to the gym and work out and you will have the sexy waist."

Schwarzenegger was first elected governor of California in 2003, earning the nickname the "Governator."

Gene Simmons, famous for his time with KISS, said that he showed up to the event because he believes Schwarzenegger has a lot to say as a self-made man.

Still, Simmons said he wasn't interested in politics, joking that democracy is overrated.

With files from The Canadian Press