True Lies is an action comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. During the filming of the film, Cameron wasn’t always the nicest director and called Schwarzenegger a village idiot.
What is True Lies about?
The film is based on the French film La Totale! and, according to Box Office Mojo, cost $115 million and took in over $378 million worldwide, making it a success. The film also made it onto our list of the best Arnie films. But during filming, Schwarzenegger was not considered the big action hero, but was even called a village idiot.
You can see the trailer for the film here:
English trailer for “True Lies” from 1994
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The action comedy offers a good balance between action and comedy, which is mainly due to the chemistry of the two main actors. Schwarzenegger was already known for tough action in the form of Conan the Barbarian or Terminator, but also for comedies like Twins or Kindergarten Cop.
As Collider reports, James Cameron recalled a special day when a stunt involving Schwarzenegger went wrong. Due to the failed stunt, the actor had to wear a dog bone, a type of neck brace, to support his neck. The actor was then called The Village Idiot by director James Cameron.
During another stunt in the film, the situation wasn’t so funny and Schwarzenegger could have seriously injured himself.
In one scene in the film, Schwarzenegger chases the bad guys through a hotel on a police horse. In the film, the actor then flies over the horse and dangles from an edge, but is pulled back up by the horse.
During filming, the camera arm fell on the horse’s nose, causing the animal to rage wildly. Schwarzenegger quickly jumped off the horse and was pulled out by a stuntman. If he or the stuntmen had reacted more slowly, things could have turned out a lot worse.
Despite his stature and his serious films, the actor has some stories to tell that show a completely different side of him: Legendary wrestler once lifted Arnold Schwarzenegger like a small child to put him on a cupboard