“Go Ahead! I Dare You”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Threatened His Makeup Artist After Promising to “Go Bald” for a Character in 1997

Arnold Schwarzenegger became a household name with movies like The Terminator, Total Recall, and Predator. One of the roles where Arnold was not cast as a lead but left the audience in awe was Mr. Freeze.

In Batman & Robin, released in 1997, Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast as the villain Mr. Freeze. What was more challenging than the acting was the task of looking like Mr. Freeze. Arnold’s makeup artist for the movie, Jeff Dawn, once revealed an astonishing incident on the movie sets.

Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened his makeup artist

In a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dawn said he had persuaded Schwarzenegger to shave his head. Mr. Freeze’s character needed a bald head, and it would take 1.5 hours per day to wear a bald cap.

With an 11-person staff working just for him, Mr. Freeze’s makeup required four hours daily. The bald cap would have been challenging because Schwarzenegger had a strict 12-hour work policy. Schwarzenegger agreed to shave his head for the role but backed out on the appointed day.

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After Schwarzenegger refused, Dawn made a last attempt by switching on his electric trimmer and moving towards Arnold. Dawn said, “I’m looking at Arnold. He’s looking at me with this big sh*t-grin smile, like, ‘Jeff, go ahead! I dare you,’” Dawn turned off the trimmer and chose to use the bald cap instead.

The makeup wasn’t the only challenge

Almost 6 hours of makeup was not the only challenge that Arnold faced in the film. The 75-year-old actor had to wear LED lights in his mouth for close-up shots. 

Arnold’s saliva would come in contact with the batteries, which would release acid in his mouth. Dawn then packed the LED batteries in a tiny balloon in his mouth, which would make them die faster.

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It would make them spend extra time replacing the batteries every 20 minutes, increasing the cost of the film. But once the creators were able to give Mr. Freeze the appearance they had in mind, it was all worthwhile. So, have you seen Batman & Robin? Tell us in the comments!