Linda Hamilton is resuming her initial guess about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting prowess on the set of “Terminator.”
The actress revealed during Netflix’s three-part documentary “Arnold” (via Insiders) who had an “arrogant definition” of what it meant to be an actress, a definition professional bodybuilder Schwarzenegger did not fit into.
“By our arrogant definition, Arnold was a poser, a bodybuilder pretending to be an actor,” Hamilton said. “But because I was curious, I went and stood on the sidelines to look at Arnold, and bought it. The physicality and the rigidity, and all the things that he was implementing. I was like, ‘OK, this might work.’”
He added that the film was “really just another job” and had no idea it would become a franchise.
“I didn’t think it was particularly important compared to the scripts I’d read. I mean, really clueless,” Hamilton said. “It was a very low budget and we were all pretty new. I definitely had my doubts.”
At the beginning of James Cameron’s sequel, ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’, Schwarzenegger admitted that Hamilton outperformed him in the gym.
“A few days before shooting, Jim Cameron said to me, ‘Let’s all get together and have a nice dinner.’ Linda comes in and takes off her sweater and I look at her arms,” Schwarzenegger recalled. “She Veins on the biceps and then on the triceps. Everything was like a bodybuilder but except the miniature. I said, ‘I can’t believe that motherfucker is fucking cuter than me.'”
Schwarzenegger previously confirmed that he was done with the Terminator movies after reuniting with Hamilton in 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate. Schwarzenegger has appeared in six installments of the franchise.
“The franchise is not finished. I’m done,” Schwarzenegger said. “I got the message loud and clear that the world wants to move forward with a different theme when it comes to ‘The Terminator.’ Someone must have a great idea.”
He added, “’The Terminator’ was largely responsible for my success, so I’ve always looked at it very fondly. The first three movies were great. Number four (“Salvation”) I wasn’t there because I was governor. So five (“Genisys”) and six (“Dark Fate”) didn’t close the deal as far as I’m concerned. We knew this beforehand because they weren’t written well.
