Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about age, being ‘back’ as Terminator

PARIS, France – Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke Friday about being “back” as the Terminator in a new sequel to the sci-fi film series that made him famous – and about how he’s still an action star at age 67. (WATCH: Arnold Schwarzenegger poses as ‘Terminator’ wax figure, surprises fans)

In a promotional media conference in Paris on Friday for Terminator Genisys, Schwarzenegger, revealed some secrets from the movie. First up, he told reporters that “I got the phone call a month after I’d finished my governorship” – his 7-year stint running California, which ended in January 2011 – to return as the killer robot.

He then explained that a key scene in the movie sees him fighting a younger version of himself.

In it, he is an older Terminator battling the one he played back in 1984, when the original Terminator came out, a struggle made possible by the time travel conceit of the series – and modern special effects.

His appearance as a Terminator visibly 3 decades older was explained in a “very well-written” way, he said.

The production hired a bodybuilder with “a Mr Universe physique” to play the younger version of Schwarzenegger in the fight and then spent a year using computer graphic overlays to make him look like the first Terminator.

“When I saw the movie for the first time three weeks ago I was literally blown away, to see myself fighting me and to see exactly the way I looked in 1984,” Schwarzenegger said.

He said his young face had to be recreated. Not “one single frame” was taken from the first Terminator movie, because it is owned by a different production company, he explained.

“It was really extraordinary to watch that. I didn’t actually know when I saw the fight who I should root for,” he said.

Schwarzenegger also spoke about how movie magic was making it possible for him to keep going in other action roles at an age that many men are enjoying retirement golf.

He said, for instance, that he is reprising his title role from “Conan,” the first feature movie he made 35 years ago, for an upcoming sequel.

“All of this is very unusual, because normally when you watch movies such as ‘James Bond’ or ‘Batman’, they switch out the actors every 5, 6 or 10 years.”

But, the former bodybuilder grinned, “when you have a studly body, you shouldn’t be surprised.” – Marc Burleigh, AFP/Rappler.com