Une interview de juillet 2003 pour la sortie de T3 :http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KFY/is_5_21/ai_103376708/Terminator 3 the naked truth: Arnold Schwarzenegger never figured the road to "I'll be back" would be so toughNineteen years after The Terminator and 12 years after its trailblazing sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Arnold Schwarzenegger is returning in the role that made him a worldwide megastar. While you're waiting in line July 2 to see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, read this revealing interview in which the box-office star and bodybuilding icon explains why the offscreen dramatics surrounding his prep for T3 rivaled the onscreen action.
FLEX: What were the physical challenges you faced in preparing for your role in T3?
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: Actually it was much more difficult than I originally anticipated. I signed the deal to do T3 in November 2001 and, with filming not scheduled to begin until early April [2002], I was confident I had sufficient time to get into the sort of shape I wanted -- a physical shape that was compatible to how I looked in T1 and T2. But then, in early December, I broke six ribs in a motorcycle accident and couldn't train for three months.
How did the accident occur?
It was a Sunday afternoon and I was riding through Santa Monica on my Harley, when the car in front of me suddenly braked. My front wheel hit the rear fender of the car and I ended up sliding along the road sideways. I was taken to the ER at St. John's Hospital, and they told me I had broken six ribs and that I couldn't work out for three months -- until early March. In fact, I started training again in late February, which was only six or seven weeks before shooting began.
Even disregarding the accident and being sidelined for all that time, there were two other factors that had already made the challenge of getting into shape for T3 more difficult than T1 and T2.
First, there was the question of age. I made T1 [released in 1984] when I was 36 and T2 [released in 1991 when I was 43. Now, at 54, I had to get into the sort of shape that was consistent with, and added authenticity to, the physique I displayed in T1 and T2. That was a challenge in itself.
Another major factor was the heart surgery [heart valve replacement] I underwent in 1997. Since my heart operation, my doctors told me it would no longer be wise to indulge in all-out workouts using really heavy weights. They advised high-rep work, never going beyond failure. So I couldn't train the way I used to.
Given that background, couldn't you just have the T3 character appear throughout in leather and not show as much muscle as the previous two films?
No. Pride was a big factor. I wanted to be true to how T1 and T2 looked. Anything less would have been cheating the essence of the story and the audience. I'd signed to replicate the persona and look of the earlier Terminators, and so, even with the accident disrupting my preparation, I was determined to fulfill my obligations.
The film cost a reported $170 million, with your fee being $30 million (the highest ever paid an actor for a single role). Was the film's budget, one of the largest ever, another pressure?
I've never let a movie's budget act as a pressure to me. My duty is to be on the set every day and do my job. By doing that, I've fulfilled my responsibilities. After that, it's up to the marketing and publicity people to sell the movie.
How much muscle did the script ask you to show?
[Laughs] Well, everything really. In the opening scene in which the Terminator comes back from the future, he appears totally nude -- from the back, anyway [see "The Skinny"]. How much more muscle could I show? Although it was the opening scene, it wasn't scheduled to be shot until the end of May, so from being given the all clear to train in late February, I had three months to get into shape for the nude scene.
What sort of training program did you formulate for that three-month period?
It was very much along the lines of how I used to train for contests. I trained twice a day, six days a week, doing, for the most part, 15 sets a bodypart. Heeding the advice of my heart surgeon, I didn't lift maximum poundages, do forced reps or any other intensity techniques. Instead, I did high-rep sets to failure. [See "Arnold Schwarzenegger's T3 Training Program."] I took short rests between sets. It was basically a conditioning and hardening-up program.
Another major move was that I went back to training at World Gym, Marina del Rey, with Franco Columbu and Eddie Giuliani. [The former being the 1976 and '81 Mr. Olympia and a close friend of Arnold's for nearly 40 years; the latter being a stalwart of the '70s gang that made Gold's Gym, Venice, the mecca of bodybuilding.] For a few years, I had trained mainly at home, but I went back to World to train with Franco and Eddie as further means of motivation to get into the shape I needed in the short time available.
It turned out to be a great experience. Besides Franca and Eddie kicking me toward the shape I wanted to be in, we had some great fun and some great laughs. It rekindled all the old camaraderie we shared from years before -- it was simply a joy.
When it came time for the nude scene, were you in the shape you wanted to be in?
Oh, yes. When I started training in late February, I was 214 pounds, and when it came time to shoot the scene, I was 220. But I had gained much more than six pounds of muscle. I was harder, more defined, much fuller. I was the way I wanted to look, and at 220, I was exactly the same weight as I had been for Terminator 2.
You were pleased with your physique. What about the movie? The first two Terminators were directed by James Cameron, a friend of yours. The third one was directed by Jonathan Mostow. How did that transition work out?
Well, I must admit to being a bit anxious before we started shooting. Jonathan came with a great rep [U-571, Breakdown], but with anything new, you ask, "Is this the right mix? Is he the right guy?" In the early days of shooting, Jonathan won my confidence. He was clear about the vision he had for the movie, and he was really smart and creative in making the story work. We finished with a great movie.
What other film projects are coming up in the future?
Later this year, I begin shooting Joe's Last Chance. No, it has nothing to do with Joe Weider. It's a comedy in which I play the lead role of a hit man getting his last assignment. In the fall, negotiations for T4 will probably take a step forward.
You were very active last year in getting state Proposition 49 (supporting certain after-school programs for children) approved by California voters. Any developments in that area?
I'm trying to get other regions of the country to adopt similar programs. I've been to Dallas, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia and New York attending meetings with the educational and local government people who can implement such programs in those areas. And, of course, I'm still working hard on various inner-city-kids programs.
Will you run for governor of California in 2006?
Yes. And, at the right time, I'll be back to tell you all about my plans.