According to Insider, Linda Hamilton has reconsidered her initial opinion of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting abilities while working on the set of “The Terminator.” In a Netflix documentary called “Arnold,” Hamilton admitted that she had a narrow definition of what it meant to be an actor, which didn’t align with Schwarzenegger’s background as a professional bodybuilder.
Hamilton stated that she used to view Schwarzenegger as a “poser” or someone pretending to be an actor due to her snooty perception of the profession. However, her curiosity led her to observe Schwarzenegger’s performance closely, and she was impressed by his physicality, stiffness, and the effort he put into the role. This made her reconsider her initial judgment, thinking that his approach might actually work for the character.
Reflecting on the first film, Hamilton revealed that she didn’t anticipate its future success and didn’t consider it to be a particularly remarkable project at the time. She admitted to having doubts, given the low budget and the relative inexperience of the cast and crew.
By the time they began working on James Cameron’s sequel, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” Schwarzenegger acknowledged that Hamilton had surpassed him in terms of physical fitness.
Before shooting started, James Cameron suggested they have a dinner together, and when Hamilton took off her sweater, Schwarzenegger noticed her well-defined muscles, veins on her biceps and triceps. He was surprised to see that she had become even more physically impressive than him.
“By our snotty definition, Arnold was a poser, a bodybuilder pretending to be an actor,” Hamilton said. “But because I was curious, I went and stood off the sidelines watching Arnold, and I bought it. The physicality and the stiffness, and all of the things that he was implementing. I was like, ‘OK, this might work.’”
She added that the film was “truly just another job,” and she had no idea it would become a franchise.
“I didn’t think that it was particularly greater than over scripts that I’d read. I mean, really clueless,” Hamilton said. “It was very low budget and we were all rather new at it. I definitely had my doubts.”
Schwarzenegger has previously stated that he is finished with the “Terminator” franchise after reuniting with Hamilton in 2019’s “Terminator: Dark Fate.” He has appeared in six installments of the series. Schwarzenegger acknowledged that while he personally won’t continue with the franchise, he recognizes its significance in his career and holds the first three movies in high regard. However, he felt that the subsequent films, including “Salvation,” “Genisys,” and “Dark Fate,” lacked strong storytelling and didn’t live up to expectations. He believes that someone needs to come up with a great idea to rejuvenate the series and move it in a new direction.
