LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former world-famous bodybuilder, actor, and politician, was catapulted to success through the ‘Terminator’ movie series. However, the acting skills of Netflix's Chief Action Officer are not the only factor that made the films memorable. The former Mr Olympia, who is now awaiting the release of 'Arnold', a docuseries based on his life, is also known for his iconic catchphrase "I’ll be back" from the 'Terminator' movies.
The line first appeared in the first installment of ‘The Terminator’ where Schwarzenegger's eponymous cyborg assassin character, the Terminator, is not allowed to enter the police station that was housing his targets -- Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese. After pausing and observing the vicinity, he told the police officer poignantly, “I’ll be back,” and came back moments later to massacre the people present there. But did you know the Austrian-born Schwanzenegger’s accent that made the catchphrase iconic, was also the reason why the dialogue was almost axed from the movie?
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'It sounded stupid'
In a 2012 interview with ABC News, the ‘Total Recall’ author shared, “I could not pronounce really well this 'I'll' so I just kept saying to James Cameron just say 'I will be back,' as it sounds more like a machine ... and he says 'No, no, no.'” He further continued, “It sounds really weird when I say it with my German accent but he said 'I don't care', let's just say it 10 different ways and then one will work. And so that's what we did.”
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Schwarzenegger further recalled the incident as he elaborated, “I think about how it was an accident. [Terminator director] Jim Cameron and I were debating how to say the line because I was not comfortable with saying I’ll. I said, 'I think it’s stronger to say, ‘I will be back.'”
However, it was Cameron’s timely intervention that not only saved the dialogue but also paved the way for its greatness. The father-of-five continued, “Cameron said, 'Are you the scriptwriter now? It’s just one word. Don’t tell me how to write. I don’t tell you how to act.'” However, the bickering between the two great creative minds did not end there as Schwarzenegger recalled, "I said, 'You tell me how to act every f**king minute! What are you talking about?'”
The ‘Conan the Barbarian’ actor then continued how Cameron kept his calm and explained to him the intricacies, “So he says, 'Arnold, you think it sounds weird. It doesn’t. What makes it great is that you sound different than me or Charlie over there. That’s what makes it work. So just say it 10 times. Say it different ways. I’ll keep rolling the camera. Then we’ll choose one.'”
He also recalled having numerous versions of the same dialogue as he shared with the news outlet, “So they set it up, and I say, '(Flatly) I’ll be back … (cheerful) I’ll be back! … (guttural) I’ll beeee baaaack …' It sounded stupid.”
In another interview with CBS' '60 Minutes', he further revealed that he even thought the dialogue to be feminine. He said, “I thought it was feminine,” before adding, “It sounded to me off and it sounded weak and feminine.”
'That’s where it started and where it ended up'
However, even though Schwarzenegger was initially against the line, he learned to appreciate it later. In the '60 Minutes' interview, he further revealed, “I fought him(Cameron) tooth and nail and he won the argument and luckily he won the argument,” before elaborating, “I didn't even notice this is an important line or that it would be as something that people who remember will repeat.” He then also shared an anecdote about children coming to him to repeat the dialogue after the film’s release.
In a similar fashion, he reminisced about the moment in an interview with THR, “The movie comes out. I’m in Central Park. This guy comes up and says, “Say the line!” … Now, a few days ago, I was skiing in Aspen, and the concierge comes up asking me to say the line. So that’s where it started and where it ended up. It’s wild.”
'Arnold' releases on Netflix on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
