Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the biggest action stars in the history of Hollywood.
But he still has a few regrets about his illustrious movie career.
And Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed the one Hollywood blockbuster he regretted not taking.
Arnold reveals the 90s blockbuster he passed on
Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on the New Heights podcast hosted by recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
Schwarzenegger has starred in some of the biggest action movies of all time, including the Terminator franchise, Predator, Total Recall, and The Running Man.
Jason Kelce asked if there was any movie that he regretted not taking.
“There was a movie called The Rock with Sean Connery,” Schwarzenegger said. “So, they came to me with a script that was only 80 pages, instead of 120 which normally scripts are.”
“With a lot of handwritten scribbles in it,” he added. “And they tried to explain it to me, ‘Oh, this is what we are going to write.’ So, I said, ‘Look guys why don’t you just come back when it’s finished?’ I said, ‘This is half-baked. I’m not going to make a commitment.”’
He said that he had three other movies scheduled, so he decided to pass on The Rock.
Nicolas Cage ended up getting the lead role in the movie, which became one of the biggest summer blockbusters of 1996.
The movie had Cage in the lead as an FBI chemist who, along with Connery’s character – the only man to ever break out of Alcatraz – and Navy SEALs go on a mission to Alcatraz to stop a rogue Marine general threatening to fire deadly nerve gas on San Francisco.
“[Cage] took it, and did a great job with it,” Schwarzenegger said. “And the movie was fantastic even though I was not in it. Nicolas Cage did a fantastic job. Sean Connery was great. The directing was great. The writing, everything was really a straight 10.”
Schwarzenegger passed on The Rock to make Eraser and Jingle All the Way, neither of which were hits on the level of the movie he passed on.
“So, I really enjoyed the movie,” Schwarzenegger said. “But that was one movie I wish I would’ve taken.”
Cage used his success in The Rock to transition into an action star with films like Con Air and Face/Off.
Arnold gives the Kelce brothers advice about Hollywood
Schwarzenegger guessed that the Kelce brothers could eventually transition to a career in the entertainment industry because they were recording the podcast in Hollywood.
So the veteran movie star gave them some advice.
“I’m not stupid, right? There’s a reason these guys are out here together in Hollywood,” Schwarzenegger said. “There’s all kinds of interviews being scheduled for movie parts. You guys have it lined up, you just don’t want to give it away right now …”
He recommended that the brothers stick to movies that have well-written scripts.
