I don't quite buy it. We may just be seeing selection bias How many thousands do that and fail miserably? We never hear about it. How many luck into things? We hear about them, but don't then discount Arnold's story by some Bayesian amount of doubt. And how many get completely burned by trying to live as if they are something they are not, and get ostracized as a result?

Hollywood is filled with people trying to act like they are a great star. Almost none of them are, nor will they ever be one.