Arnold Schwarzenegger ventured into the world of movies after a spectacular career in bodybuilding. It was indeed a major career switch, but Schwarzenegger went ahead with the risk. Academy Award-winning director, James Cameron, played a crucial role in giving the Austrian Oak his big break.
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The success of the Terminator movie took the former bodybuilding champion to an international level. In a 2019 interview, Cameron shared his experience with Schwarzenegger and the story behind how the blockbuster movie happened.
“He was like an oiled-up loincloth guy”
James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger are undoubtedly a blockbuster combination. The Austrian-American began his acting career with the 1970 movie Hercules in New York. While he made steady progress as an actor, he rose to stardom with The Terminator in 1984.
In an interview with Howard Stern James Cameron talked about casting Schwarzenegger for the role. “He was like an oiled up loincloth guy. Everyone was handing the guy swords,” Cameron said. On the contrary, he said the role he played in the Terminator had “clothes on the whole picture.”
Stern pointed out Cameron’s role in giving Arnold’s career a quantum leap. “You made his career, I would say.” Cameron described the 1984 movie as a “stepping stone for him that would have taken him more steps if he hadn’t done that film”. “But he would have gotten there. I mean you know Arnold so you know what he’s like”, added Cameron.
James Cameron didn’t write the role for Arnold Schwarzenegger
As the discussion continued, the director revealed some more details about the casting of the movie. To a question about who could have played the role better, Cameron replied he hadn’t thought in retrospect. “Did you write it for him?” Stern asked.
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Cameron affirmed that he didn’t change a word for him, and how Schwarzenegger shared his appreciation when he went through the script. He added that the bodybuilder wasn’t ready for the role as he had trouble memorizing his dialogues, and would use little flashcards to help him with the same.
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Fast forward to today, the action star has acted in over 40 films and is one of the highest-paid actors in the world.