Bombay, India ? From Bollywood stars to a deposed Philippine president, actors-turned-politicians warned Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday if he doesn’t get his lines right as governor of California, he may be booed out by a fickle public.

“The pitfall is if you do not perform in the movies, it’s just acting. But in politics, it’s real life,” said Joseph Estrada, who should know — he was ousted as president of the Philippines in massive protests and is now serving time on corruption charges.

Speaking from a detention facility in Manila, Estrada advised Schwarzenegger to work at bringing his on-screen heroics to the tangled reality of politics.

“The so-called learned people, with all their master’s degrees, have no monopoly on leadership,” Estrada said in a telephone interview, citing actor-turned-California governor-turned-president Ronald Reagan as his own inspiration.

“That’s how I got the cue,” he said.

A long list of Hollywood actors have made the transition to politics. Action stars have fared particularly well: Former professional wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura, who acted with Schwarzenegger in the films “Predator” and “The Running Man” was elected governor of Minnesota after serving as mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minn.

Clint Eastwood of “Dirty Harry” fame was elected mayor of the California coastal town of Carmel in 1986, although he served only two years before returning to acting and directing.

In Bollywood, India’s Bombay-based movie mecca, which churns out 800 films a year, many actors have crossed from film to politics — but the going can be tough.

India’s most popular star, Amitabh Bachchan, won a seat in Parliament in the 1980s but did not finish his five-year term, resigning in the wake of corruption allegations.

Former Philippines President Joseph Estrada is shown in this Sept. 16, 2000, photograph from Manila. Estrada, a former actor, was deposed in protests and now faces corruption charges.

“There was too much mudslinging,” said Komal Nata, editor of the Bombay movie trade guide Film Information. “He realized he was not cut out for it and he’d rather face the cameras and act.”

Actress Eva Peron was the virtual co-ruler of Argentina when her husband, Juan Peron, took power in 1946 — a role chronicled in the popular musical and film, “Evita.” Her husband’s third wife, Isabel, a former cabaret dancer, became Argentina’s president in 1974 but was ousted two years later in a coup.

Italy’s most attention-grabbing actress-turned-politician was former porn star Ilona Staller, known as “Cicciolina,” who was elected to Parliament in 1987. She failed in a political comeback last year.

Film director Franco Zeffirelli won election to Italy’s Senate in 1996, with the party of current Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

Danish comedian Jacob Haugaard was elected to Parliament in 1994, promising to support the rights of impotent men, put God back in churches and improve the weather. After four years in office, he accomplished little and did not seek another term. Now, he’s back in the comedy business.