There’s a reason The Terminator franchise ranks among the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. This former bodybuilder needed to act like a machine and learn to kill like one. According to the Austrian-American actor, the prep that went into playing the T-800 was an intense and bloody process.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s preparation for playing the futuristic killing machine involved a lot more than just strictly not blinking for the role. According to Insider, Schwarzenegger’s new book Be Useful: Seven Tools For Life, there was the intense, bloody actions he took for The Terminator franchise, starting with the 1984 original. As he recalled:
On The Terminator’ it was becoming a machine: blindfolding myself until I could do every gun stunt with my eyes closed, and shooting so many rounds at the range that I no longer blinked when my gun fired.
That really is some intense training! I can understand learning how to shoot rounds without blinking for each gunfire. After all, Schwarzenegger’s character is supposed to be a flawless machine built and programmed to take out anyone in his orbit. But I’m curious why he blindfolded himself for the stunt guns, especially since the T-800 had his eyes open in each gunshot. Maybe it was to show that he literally can shoot a gun flawlessly with his eyes closed.
Then, there’s his reprisal in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, one of the best action moviesand also one of the best sci fi movies of all time. Because sequels often mean bigger work, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s training grew to be more grueling and bloody for this one. He explained:
On Terminator 2, it was practicing the shotgun cocking flip so many times my knuckles bled for what amounted to two seconds of screen time. I didn’t complain.
I figured Schwarzenegger wouldn’t complain as the top-billing action star got injured on set before Terminator 2. He experienced grueling injuries for Conan the Barbarian when he had to crawl through rocks until his forearms bled, he was pulled into a thorn bush by wild dogs, and he got a gash on his back that required 40 stitches. The Kindergarten Cop actor also got a rough injury on the set of Total Recall when he smashed into a train window with a gun before the windows exploded. This also required some stitching up during his lunch break. Additionally, the ex-politician experienced a head injury on the set of The Last Stand. Schwarzenegger is clearly no stranger to danger, but it shows what a dedicated actor he is and that he can hold himself together well.
The Predator actor endured an intensely bloody prep to play a cyborg in The Terminator franchise. In the end though, all that work paid off, as Schwarzenegger convincingly pulled off the mechanical moves of the T-800 like a pro which helped make his character iconic. You can watch him in The Terminator with your Max subscription, and Terminator 2 with your Paramount+ subscription.