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The 1990s were an influential era in Hollywood. Notable movies likeSpeed,Seven,andTerminator 2: Judgement Daymade the audience go crazy for the theater experience. James Cameron directedTerminator 2: Judgement Dayreceived 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 directedTerminator 2: Judgement Daywent on to earn millions at the global box office. The movie’s pulling factor was the protagonist, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Also read:“It would be about AI”: James Cameron Teases More Terminator Movies After Avatar 2, Reveals Franchise Will Move On From Just Bad Robots
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, theTotal Recallactor 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 Schwarzeneggerwas 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)June 20, 2025
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.
Suggested:“I was trying to get back at Arnold”: Sylvester Stallone Was Tricked By Arnold Schwarzenegger to Star in Buddy Cop Action Movie That Nearly Killed His Career As Part of an Elaborate Revenge to Get Even
When James Cameron Cursed Arnold Schwarzenegger
Related:“Female warrior who’s six months pregnant in battle”: James Cameron Claims Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman Never Showed Women Empowerment as well as He Did in Avatar 2
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 Expandablesactor recalled a time whenJames Cameronreportedly cursed at Schwarzenegger for sounding too robot-like.
The script ofTerminator Genesyscontained 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 theTitanicdirector 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 withThe Terminatorfranchise. With the average performance ofTerminator: Dark Fatein 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 theAvataruniverse.
The latest installment in theAvatarfranchise,Avatar: The Way of Water,directed by James Cameron, is currently running in theaters worldwide.
Source:FilmFacts
Visarg Acharya
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3264
Visarg Acharya is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 3000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past three years and a copywriter at a corporation. Visarg usually covers news and theories on the MCU and the DCU, with an emphasis on Avengers and Superman; Game of Thrones, and more.A Tarantino fan, Visarg, spends his time critiquing various directors’ filmographies and watching them with curiosity. Medieval fantasy like The Lord of the Rings or sci-fi movies like Interstellar, watching the latest horror movies, and listening to Hans Zimmer become his comfort zone. When idle, he can be found reading fantasy novels with a terrible cup of coffee in hand.
