The Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger candidly reflects on a major argument he had with director James Cameron regarding the most iconic line of his career. Released in 1984, The Terminator stars Schwarzenegger as an unstoppable cyborg killing machine sent back to the past to kill the mother of a rebel leader. The film was a hit, launching Cameron's and Schwarzenegger's careers and kickstarting a franchise that now consists of six installments in total.
In a recent interview with THR, Schwarzenegger looks back on his time in the Terminator franchise, recalling a famous argument he had with Cameron over the line, "I'll be back." The actor recalls taking issue with the contraction "I'll" and wanting to instead say "I will," which Cameron was thankfully having none of. Check out Schwarzenegger's full comment below:
“I think about how it was an accident. Jim Cameron and I were debating how to say the line because I was not comfortable with saying ‘I’ll.’ I said, “I think it’s stronger to say, "I will be back.”’ Cameron said, ‘Are you the scriptwriter now? It’s just one word. Don’t tell me how to write. I don’t tell you how to act.’ I said, ‘You tell me how to act every fucking minute! What are you talking about?!’
“So he says, ‘Arnold, you think it sounds weird. It doesn’t. What makes it great is that you sound different than me or Charlie over there. That’s what makes it work. So just say it 10 times. Say it different ways. I’ll keep rolling the camera. Then we’ll choose one.’ So they set it up, and I say: ‘(Flatly) I’ll be back … (cheerful) I’ll be back! … (guttural) I’ll beeee baaaack …’ It sounded stupid.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger Was Key To The Terminator's Success
Schwarzenegger may now be retired from the Terminator franchise, but he was undoubtedly crucial to the first film's success. Cameron's direction and the casting of Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn are also obviously key ingredients, but Schwarzenegger's presence as a hulking, unstoppable robot helps to give the film so much momentum and intensity.
Other actors were initially considered for the role of the T-800, including Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson, but it's hard to imagine that the film would have reached the same level of success without Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger's accent makes the robot feel otherworldly, in a way, and his physical features help to sell just how dangerous he is. The actor's facial structure and impressive physique as one of the foremost bodybuilders in the world, at the time, make the T-800 feel like a bulldozer moving through the world, effortlessly mowing down those who get in his way.
What made Schwarzenegger's T-800 so captivating to watch in the original movie also makes Terminator 2: Judgment Day such a great follow-up. In addition to giving the T-800 more of a personality, the audience's built-in knowledge of the robot's strength and abilities only serves to make Robert Patrick's T-1000 even more terrifying. Although Schwarzenegger's physical strength may have been unmatched on-set at the time, Cameron was still thankfully able to strong-arm the actor into saying what is now The Terminator's most well-known line.
Source: THR
