The Hilarious Reason RoboCop Rejected Arnold Schwarzenegger As The Star
Arnold Schwarzenegger was once in line to star in sci-fi classic RoboCop, but here’s the simple, hilarious reason he was rejected for the role.
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While Arnold Schwarzenegger was very interested in taking the titular role in RoboCop, there’s a hilariously simple reason he was rejected according to The Movies That Made Us. In addition to RoboCop, Orion Pictures was also behind The Terminator, the film that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a movie star. There soon followed a string of Arnold Schwarzenegger action movies like Commando, Raw Deal, The Running Man and many more. 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day later proved to be one of the biggest successes of his career, and he would return to the part several times in later years.
The success of The Terminator is one reason Orion was interested in him for RoboCop. This 1987 sci-fi drama blended everything from action movie to satire and is basically a modern take on Frankenstein’s Monster. Paul Verhoeven directed the movie with his signature visceral style, with the movie being viciously violent, hilariously funny and surprisingly moving, depending on the scene. While most people rolled their eyes when they first heard the title or premise, RoboCop proved to be an instant classic when it arrived.
The search for the RoboCop movie’s lead actor was a long one and is detailed in The Movies That Made Us season 3. Michael Ironside was heavily favored but eventually dropped out, while Rutger Hauer and Tom Berenger were also considered. Arnold Schwarzenegger was very interested in the role and met Orion Pictures co-founder Mike Medavoy about the movie several times. Since Arnie had fronted The Terminator for Orion and his star was rising rapidly, it made sense for him to front RoboCop. According to Orion’s Paul M. Sammon in The Movies That Made Us, the issue was when the suit’s designer Rob Bottin started drawing the suit to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proportions, which Sammon claims made him look like …”the Michelin Man.”
The Arnold Schwarzenegger version of RoboCop was “too exaggerated” and bulky, to the point where he looked both indestructible and ridiculous. It soon became clear RoboCop couldn’t work with Terminator star Arnie, and that they needed somebody with low body mass and appealing lips – since that’s what audiences would see for most of the movie. They eventually found that unique combination in Peter Weller, who would later struggle with performing in the suit due to its restrictive movements and the heat of being inside it.
According to The Movies That Made Us, Weller was once so frustrated by filming RoboCop he very nearly quit during filming, but his issues were eventually worked out. Weller’s performance in RoboCop is fantastic, so it’s doubtful anyone thinks Arnold Schwarzenegger could have done a better job with the part. He eventually worked with Paul Verhoeven on his RoboCop follow-up Total Recall, which was another big success and is considered one of the duo’s best movies.
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