Arnold Schwarzenegger remembers “embarrassing” ‘Last Action Hero’ box office
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up on the “embarrassing” box office performance of the 1993 action-comedy Last Action Hero in the new three-part docuseries Arnold.
“I cannot tell you how upset I was,” Schwarzenegger said in the documentary. “It hurts you. It hurts your feelings. It’s embarrassing… I didn’t want to see anyone for a week. But you keep plodding along.”
The actor also said that he had been given the strength to get over the poor box office by his family members. He added, “And my mother-in-law also said this all the time: ‘Let’s just move forward.’ It’s a great message.”
The film saw Schwarzenegger star as the fictional action movie star Jack Slater, and it is largely a parody of the several tropes of the action movie genre, including several particular ones that Schwarzenegger himself has been in.
Elsewhere in the documentary, James Cameron remembered speaking to the actor shortly after Last Action Hero arrived in cinemas. “He sounded like he was in bed crying,” the director said.
He continued, “He took it as a deep blow to his brand. I think it really shook him… I said, ‘What are you gonna do?’ He said, ‘I’m just gonna hang out by myself.’ That’s the only time I’ve ever heard him down.”
Check out the film’s trailer below.
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