How did Arnold Schwarzenegger become involved?
Initially, I didn't really want him. Orion had proposed him to play the other guy, because he was the hero. I'll never forget walking out of my apartment and telling my roommate, "I've got to go have lunch with Conan and pick a fight with him." That was my agenda, because I didn't want him to do the movie. So I had to get in an argument and come back and say he was an *******. But that's not what happened. I had lunch with Arnold and he was so charming and so into the script and so amusing and entertaining that I totally forgot my agenda. I had a great time, even though he made me smoke a cigar that made me sick for six hours. Funny thing was, he even had to pay for lunch, because I was there with this loser from Hemdale who didn't have any money. And I didn't have any money.
How did you see him as the Terminator?
Over lunch I started thinking, This guy has got the most amazing face. I almost wanted to say, "Arnold, just stop talking for a second and be real still," but I was petrified. I thought, This guy would make a great Terminator. But he doesn't want to play the Terminator. I went back to John Daly and said, "Forget it, it's not going to work. But, boy, he'd make a hell of a Terminator." Anyway, the upshot is that the deal was closed that afternoon and we were making the movie after a two-year hold.
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