Yahoo Movies Schwarzenegger reveals surprise at catchphrase popularity
Actor had no idea his Terminator line would become iconic.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s immortal line from The Terminator, “I’ll be back,” is one of the most oft-quoted lines in cinema history.
But the actor has revealed he had no idea it would have such an effect on popular culture.
[Arnold Schwarzenegger smashes things with his tank for charity]
The action hero, who is currently promoting new film Sabotage was asked whether the line would feature when he reprises the role of the T-800 in Terminator: Genesis.
He told The Sunday Times: “I don’t even know sometimes why certain phrases become popular.
“When I said ‘I’ll be back,’ I didn’t have the foggiest idea that it would become the most quoted line in movie history.”
Schwarzenegger went on to credit his distinctive Austrian accent with making the phrase iconic.
“I think it’s just how you say it. Like the line, ‘Get to the chopper.’ I sometimes visit a university to do a speech and people are screaming, ‘Get to the chooooper!’ and then they ask me to say that in the microphone, in my way, with my accent. I mean, what’s funny about that?”
[Possible Terminator: Genesis plot details emerge]
He continued: “When I wanted to go from body-building into the movie business, the thing that agents and studio executives always told me was, ‘You will never, ever become a leading man because of your accent.’
“But I didn’t accept that. As Nelson Mandela said, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ I made it possible.”
Sabotage, which sees Arnie lead an elite DEA task force who find themselves being taken down one by one after they rob a drug cartel safe house, hits UK cinemas on May 7th.
