Arnold Schwarzenegger says he fought against saying “I’ll be back” in TERMINATOR because he thought it sounded weird

Arnold Schwarzenegger he has a string of iconic roles that lent themselves to a ton of catchphrases that followed him decades later. His distinct Austrian accent makes him one of the most impersonated actors out there, and one of the lines people remember the most is from the Terminator film, in which its title character says the line “I’ll be back”. But apparently, the actor asked his director, James Cameronif he could change the line.

Schwarzenegger explained to THR:

Jim Cameron and I were arguing about how to pronounce the line because I didn’t feel comfortable saying “I will.” I said, “I think it’s stronger to say, ‘I’ll be back.’ ” Cameron said: “Are you the writer now? It’s just a word. Don’t tell me how to spell it. I’m not telling you how to behave. I said, “You tell me how to act every fucking minute! What are you talking about?!” Then he says, “Arnold, you think that sounds weird. It doesn’t. What makes it awesome is that you look different than me or Charlie over there. That’s what makes it work. So just say 10 times. Say it in different ways. I’ll keep rolling the camera. Then we’ll pick one.” So they set it up and I’m like, “(Rather) I’ll be back… (cheerful) I’ll be back! … (guttural) I’ll beeee baaaack…” It looked stupid.

But he went on to admit the joke was right the way it was, saying:

The movie comes out. I’m in Central Park. This guy comes up and says, “Say the joke!” … Now, a few days ago, I was skiing in Aspen, and the doorman comes up and asks me to tell the line. So that’s where it started and where it ended. It’s wild. I’m the last one to complicate and say, “I don’t want to compare to my movies or use a line from my movies.” Hell, Clint Eastwood takes his movie clothes and wears nothing else. So why should I be bothered using a line?

It’s obviously a great joke, and Schwarzenegger has no reason to feel self-conscious about the way he says it. The actor has made a solid career out of his acting roles, accent and all, and The Terminator will always be one of his biggest roles.