Christian Bale Thrilled To Face Off Schwarzenegger
Christian Bale as John Connor in 'Terminator Salvation'
*Spoilers Below*
Although we’ve known for a while, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appearance in Terminator Salvation was ‘officially’ confirmed in a press conference screening of the new film last Thursday.
In the film, Christian Bale (John Connor) faces off against a completely nude Arnold Schwarzenegger appearing as the T-800 Terminator he is so well known for.
“I get a thrill out of seeing the scene where Connor faces off against the original T-800,” Christian Bale said. “I didn’t meet [Schwarzenegger] on the set. He didn’t have to expend one second of time.”
His comments relate to the fact that Schwarzenegger’s appearance comes courtesy of CGI. Schwarzenegger couldn’t participate in the film due to his Governator duties, and so to include him required some visual effects wizardry. To make it work, his face was digitally added to the body of Austrian bodybuilder and actor Roland Kickinger. Kickinger is so similar to Schwarzenegger that he played him in a 2005 TV movie titled See Arnold Run. His similarities also scored him an appearance in Terminator Salvation as a prototype of the T-800.
Don’t get too excited though. Schwarzenegger’s T-800 only turns up for a moment before he gets mangled beyond recognition.
“I didn’t want the scene to go on,” said director McG. “I just wanted it to be a tip of the cap [to the original.] I think that’s a nice moment in the movie when that shows up.”
Source(s): E!Online / TV Guide
