Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals what movie landed him his biggest ever paycheck and it’s not for what you think
Arnold Schwarzenegger starred alongside Danny DeVito in the film
Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed what movie landed him his biggest ever paycheck in Hollywood – and it’s not from the franchise you may expect.
From The Terminator to Commando and Predator, the 77-year-old has had one of the best careers the film industry has ever seen and had a number of eye-watering paydays in the process.
Schwarzenegger made a surprising revelation this week that his most lucrative flick was not any of his many action movies or franchises, but instead a forgotten comedy from 1988.
When starring in said film, Schwarzenegger managed to put a clause into his contract which saw him rake in a lot of money.
He worked alongside Danny DeVito in the comedy, where the pair played fraternal twin brothers separated at birth.
Arnold Schwarzenegger starred alongside Danny DeVito in the movie (Universal Pictures)
Schwarzenegger sat down with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, where he admitted Twins gave him his biggest paycheck.
“Well, number one was Twins because we got no money for the salary but ownership with a piece of the back end,” he said.
Schwarzenegger and DeVito agreed to forego any upfront salary in order to get the film’s budget under $16.5 million – a decision that paid off massively for the Terminator star.
Instead of receiving cash upfront, the actors agreed with the studio that they would own 40 percent of the movie’s earnings, basically betting on its success.
Well, Twins made over $216 million worldwide, which was way above even their wildest expectations.
Such numbers meant that DeVito and Schwarzenegger’s cut was likely more than $80 million.
The actor was then asked by Cohen if his earnings from the movie exceeded $40 million, to which he replied: “It was more than that. It was more than any movie I ever made.”
Schwarzenegger recently sat down with his son Patrick, a fellow actor, for a chat with Variety – where Twins was discussed.
“Why would they [cast me in a comedy]?” Schwarzenegger said. “They said, ‘Are you crazy? The more people that this guy kills on-screen, the more money we make. Why would we change that?’ That was the dialogue until Ivan Reitman [director] and Danny DeVito came along.”
He continued: “So I said, ‘Why don’t we all three take no money’. If we don’t take any salaries, we can shoot the movie for $16.5 million. We worked out a deal where we got 40 percent of the backend of the movie. It happened to be the best deal we’ve ever made.”
