36 Years After His $98.3 Million Box-Office Hit, Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals: “Get to the Chopper Was Not Supposed to Be a Funny Line”

In the mid-80s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the height of his action cinema career. After the immense success of The Terminator (1984), he returned with another epic sci-fi action thriller, Predator (1987). Like James Cameron’s film, Predator earned multiple times more money than its budget. The $15 to $18 million film earned a whopping $98.3 million at the box office and gave audiences another one of Arnie’s iconic one-liners.

As the cloaked alien hunter picked off Dutche’s elite team of soldiers one by one, Schwarzenegger’s character shouted at the hostage. “Get to the chopper,” shouted Dutch in inspiration before preparing to face the Predator in the climactic confrontation. However, his line invoked a different emotion in audiences.

The Arnold Schwarzenegger accent

Arnold Schwarzenegger and the cast of FUBAR are busy promoting their upcoming Netflix show, FUBAR. During one such promotional interview, the bodybuilding legend talked about his most famous one-liners. While appearing on the YouTube channel Jake’s Take, the host asked which one-liners Schwarzenegger expects people to ask more about.

However, the action movie icon revealed he or the filmmakers never thought any of his one-liners would become as famous as they are. He said after “I’ll be back,” The Terminator exploded in popularity, and filmmakers wanted to replicate it. However, he revealed “Get to the chopper was not supposed to be a funny line.”

“Just because the way I say it, it became funny,” Arnie told the interviewer. While the one-liners might have been nothing special, it was his Austrian accent that made them special. After arriving in America in 1968, the five-time Mr. Universe actively learned English. Since the beginning, he developed a unique accent that’s become one of the most recognizable and impersonated accents in show business. In fact, even his FUBAR co-stars started copying Arnie’s accent while filming.

Monica Barbaro recounts mimicking Arnie on set

During the interview, the former Mr. Olympia’s co-star Monica Barbaro said she and everyone else on set started copying another iconic Arnie phrase. She revealed the 75-year-old said, “Get down,” once during rehearsal. Gradually, everyone on set began saying it repeatedly, trying to imitate the Austrian. 

READ MORE | “TV Is Wildly Different Than Movies”: Aged 75, Arnold Schwarzenegger Details His Tirelessly Long Days Filming Fubar

She also revealed that the famous phrase from Predator made a return while filming FUBAR. According to the 32-year-old, Schwarzenegger uttered his signature, “choppa (chopper),” during a scene. However, later in the day, when she had to say it too, Barbaro insisted on using a different word. “I think he has trademarked this word,” said the actor.

Watch this story | From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Lou Ferrigno- Famous Sports Stars who Made a Successful Career Switch to Acting

What did you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s explanation? What is your favorite Schwarzenegger one-liner? Let us know in the comments.