Arnold Schwarzenegger still regrets losing a blockbuster film to Nicolas Cage in 1996. Cage starred alongside Sean Connery in the action thriller film, The Rock. The producers of the film, Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, initially approached Schwarzenegger for the role of FBI chemical weapons specialist Stanley Godspeed. However, they came with a half-baked script to meet with the Predator star, who asked them to come back when they were completely done with the script.
The film received critical acclaim and was even nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Sound. Schwarzenegger admitted that he missed out on a great opportunity but still believed that a completed script is crucial to commit to a role.
Nicolas Cage Accepted A Hit Movie Role That Arnold Schwarzenegger Turned Down
Arnold Schwarzenegger recently appeared in a fun interview with brothers Jason and Travis Kelce on their podcast New Heights. Among several other revelations about his body-building and film career, Schwarzenegger also shared about the one film that he regretted turning down. The Terminator actor recalled that producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson approached him with an 80-page script, scribbled with handwritten notes, to star in the film, The Rock.
Schwarzenegger’s first red flag was the lack of a standard 120-page script, which the producers tried to explain with scenes that they were going to include in the script. The Twins actor expressed his concern that it was a half-baked script and asked them to come back with a complete script. He also shared with them that he was committed to three other projects at the time. Schwarzenegger shared with the New Heights podcast:
“There was a movie called The Rock with Sean Connery. So they came to me with a script that was only 80 pages instead of 120, which normally scripts are, with a lot of handwritten scribbling in it. They tried to kind of explain to me, ‘This is what we’re going to write here.’ So I said, ‘Look guys, why don’t you just come back when it’s finished. This is half-baked and I’m not going to make a commitment.'”
The script of The Rock underwent several rewrites under multiple writers, and a few of them didn’t even receive the writing credits. Bruckheimer and the late Simpson then took the half-baked script to Nicolas Cage, who accepted the role despite the script issues. Schwarzenegger shared that Cage and Sean Connery did a great job in the film and everything worked out great for the movie. He shared with Jason & Travis Kelce:
“Nicolas Cage got the job and they went to him and he took it the way the script was. Then they did fine-tune the script and did a great job with it and the movie was fantastic. Even though I was not in it, Nicholas Cage did a fantastic job. Sean Connery was great. The directing, the writing, everything was really a straight ten. So I really enjoyed the movie but that was one movie for instance that I thought I wished I would have taken.”
Jonathan Hensleigh, Aaron Sorkin, and Quentin Tarantino were reportedly some of the uncredited screenwriters of the film. Connery also brought the British screenwriting duo of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais to rewrite his lines in the film (via Film Stories).
Despite His Regret, Arnold Schwarzenegger Had Valuable Advice About Choosing Scripts
While Arnold Schwarzenegger was bummed out about losing the role, he still stood by his decision to turn down the half-baked script. He shared with the Kelce brothers that the key to committing to a good movie is choosing well-written scripts. He shared the advice, “What’s not on the page is not on the stage,” while explaining that actors should not fall for promises like great special effects or great directors. The True Lies actor shared:
“I just couldn’t take it because it was not yet written. Because they always say, ‘What’s not on the page is not on the stage.’ When you get offered movies, just make sure that it is written well. When they say to you, ‘We’re gonna have great special effects and you will not believe the kind of things we’re doing. We have this and that.’ [You should ask] ‘Let’s see it first. Let me see the pages first. Let’s see the rewrite first.'”
Nicolas Cage scored big time with The Rock, as the film collected $335 million at the global box office, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of the year (via Box Office Mojo). According to FanBolt, the actor reportedly made half a million from his role in the film.
Schwarzenegger will soon return to film the second season of his successful Netflix series, FUBAR. The Rock is now available for streaming on Fubo.
