The 1990s were an influential era in Hollywood. Notable movies like Speed, Seven, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day made the audience go crazy for the theater experience. James Cameron directed Terminator 2: Judgement Day received much praise and love for its direction style and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting.
A surprising fact was revealed that Schwarzenegger was paid a whopping $15 million for speaking only a low number of 700 words.
How Arnold Schwarzenegger Earned $15 Million For 700 Words
With an intriguing plot of killings and safeguarding, James Cameron directed Terminator 2: Judgement Day went on to earn millions at the global box office. The movie’s pulling factor was the protagonist, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A recent fact was revealed which left the audiences shocked at the difference in the numbers. Schwarzenegger had barely any words/lines in the movie (being a Terminator) and yet, he earned millions for his role. During the entire runtime of 2 hours and 17 minutes, the Total Recall actor had barely 700 words to say while the rest of it was pure action and chaos.
In a tweet by FilmFacts, the post mentioned the details of his role and when broken down, Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid a whopping $21,429 for each word that he said!
In ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ (1991) Arnold Schwarzenegger earned $15M for speaking a total of 700 words of dialogue — which breaks down to approximately $21,429 per word 🤯 pic.twitter.com/IR4PtVVoVT
— Film Facts 🎬 (@Factsonfilm) December 21, 2022
The people went on to praise the actor’s ability to act without speaking. Arnold Schwarzenegger stayed faithfully true to the role of a Terminator, so much so that he once was shouted at by James Cameron for sounding too robot-like.
When James Cameron Cursed Arnold Schwarzenegger
During the shooting of the later days when James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger worked together, there was a tussle between the actor and the director. The Expandables actor recalled a time when James Cameron reportedly cursed at Schwarzenegger for sounding too robot-like.
The script of Terminator Genesys contained the iconic line “I’ll be back”. Being confused by which letter to focus on or speak more clearly, Cameron and Arnold found themselves on opposite sides until the Titanic director said “then say the f*cking line”.
“Plus it sounds really weird when I say ‘I’LL’, it sounds weak. And he says ‘no no no, just say I’LL be back.” When Arnold went a bit further the director lost his cool with the actor, as per Schwarzenegger, here’s what Cameron said, “What does the godd*mn script say? And now I [Arnold] said ‘it says I’LL be back’ and he says ‘then say the f*****g line!’”
Suffice it to say, the iconic line surely worked for the audience since “I’ll be back” became a catchy piece of dialogue that is most associated with The Terminator franchise. With the average performance of Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019, the franchise came to a temporary halt. There have been rumors of another movie, but so far nothing has been confirmed as James Cameron busies himself on expanding the Avatar universe.
The latest installment in the Avatar franchise, Avatar: The Way of Water, directed by James Cameron, is currently running in theaters worldwide.
Source: FilmFacts
