The 1994 film, True Lies, directed by renowned director James Cameron might have ended up having a different actress. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis appeared side by the side in the film as Harry Tasker and Helen Tasker. However, there were a few obstacles that came in the way of Jamie Lee Curtis before she got hired to play Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife in the film.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was not too excited about starring opposite Jamie Lee Curtis. Why? Well, the actress, who is eleven years younger than the former Governor of California, believes that Arnold Schwarzenegger was not attracted to her enough for her to play his wife. Jamie Lee Curtis added that this might be because she’s the daughter of Hollywood icons Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Apparently, that’s all Arnold Schwarzenegger thought of her at the moment, although all of that changed later on.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Wasn’t Sure about Jamie Lee Curtis
The spy-action comedy film ended up going with Jamie Lee Curtis for the role of Helen Tasker, despite Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hesitance. So why was it that Schwarzenegger was so unwilling to work with the award-magnet actress? Well, in the words of Curtis herself, Schwarzenegger only thought of her as Tony Curtis’ daughter, his little girl, and needed some convincing that she could handle the role. Curtis told Vulture,
“[Arnold] only knew me as Tony Curtis’s daughter [and] needed to be convinced. So they screen-tested a bunch of actresses. It ultimately came back to me…I just think he knew me as Tony’s little girl. If you remember, Arnold Schwarzenegger directed a movie called Christmas in Connecticut, and who did it star? Tony F***ing Curtis.”
Curtis also stated that on top of the reason mentioned above, Schwarzenegger also might have not seen her as a traditional leading woman which made the decision even more difficult. In the end, though, Curtis did end up getting the part and since then, Schwarzenegger’s point of view of the actress has changed immensely.
“So Arnold loved my dad, and I think it might have been a little weird for him having to mack with Tony’s daughter. And I’m not a traditional beauty. I’m not a traditional leading woman. I think he thought maybe there was a better person out there. I give him a total pass for that. I agree with him. I probably would have done the same thing. But I ended up doing the part.”
Curtis, with her exceptional skills, proved everyone who had doubts about her wrong, including her co-actor. Her talent made it loud and clear that no one could have played the role better than her. Curtis has even won a number of awards for her performance, including a Saturn Award for Best Acting, a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, and an American Cinema Editors Award for Funniest Lead Actress. It looks like Schwarzenegger ended up swallowing his words and he sure is aware of that!
Arnold Schwarzenegger Stands Up for Jamie Lee Curtis
Despite the fact that Schwarzenegger was unsure about Curtis’ involvement in True Lies, he was later rather irritated by the fact that people called Curtis a supporting actress. At Curtis’ 2022 Walk of Fame ceremony, Schwarzenegger openly bashed anyone who thought Curtis was a supporting actress in the film. According to People, Schwarzenegger stated,
“When you go online and you check out Jamie Lee Curtis, you can see all the wonderful things they’re saying about her. But there’s always one thing that really pisses me off, and that is when they say that she is a supporting actress in the movie True Lies. Because she wasn’t supporting — she was the female lead. She was the star. She was starring with me.”
It looks like Schwarzenegger really came around! To the Terminator actor’s kind and grateful words, Curtis revealed that she was indeed supposed to be a supporting actress at first. However, Schwarzenegger insisted that Curtis be right at the top, alongside him. It’s quite clear that the two co-actors have a lot of respect for each other, just how it should be!
True Lies is available to stream on HBO Now.
Source: Vulture
