Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron have collaborated on several projects, including The Terminator franchise and the 1994 action comedy True Lies. Starring the action hero alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, the latter follows a secret agent struggling to balance his personal and professional life. While the two played husband and wife in the movie, Curtis later revealed that the Commando star was hesitant to film the kissing scene with her due to his relationship with her father.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Felt Uneasy Filming Kissing Scene With Jamie Lee Curtis
During an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Academy Award recipient Jamie Lee Curtis shared that working on James Cameron’s 1994 film True Lies is her all-time favorite filming experience. However, she believed that her co-star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, did not want her to portray his wife in the movie.
“I guarantee, in fact, he did not want me to be in that movie,” she said. The actress explained the situation, saying that The Running Man star “knew [her] as Tony’s daughter,” referring to her father and the late actor Tony Curtis.
Schwarzenegger worked with him in the 1992 Television film Christmas in Connecticut. The Halloween star shared that her co-star must have felt weird due to the same. “He loved Tony Curtis. So I’m sure Arnold just looked at me like it’d be like kissing your niece or something,” she said.
Curtis further shared that it would have been “weird” for him to film such a scene as he saw her as “Tony’s little girl” rather than his leading lady. However, he eventually agreed to follow up with the script after Cameron told him that the role was written for Curtis and he would have to film it with her.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Filming the Striptease Scene
During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about one of the most popular scenes from the 1994 movie. The scene features Schwarzenegger’s character Harry, asking his wife, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), to strip while posing as a French criminal.
However, The Terminator star had no idea what his co-star and filmmaker had in store for him. And the scene in which Harry drops the tape from his hand is his genuine reaction. “After two minutes of (Curtis) doing this strip, I dropped it naturally,” he said.
The action star further shared, “I was so shocked to see her… because I haven’t seen the rehearsal.” He shared that James Cameron got angry and told him not to drop the tape. Schwarzenegger argued that he couldn’t help it, as he was genuinely surprised to see Curtis’ performance. And his involuntary reaction eventually made it into the final cut.
True Lies is available on Peacock.
