‘I’m looking at her arms’: Arnold Schwarzenegger recalls feeling shocked over co-star having bigger muscles than him

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t mess around when it comes to his biceps. The former governor of California has no problem letting his critics know that his muscle game is nothing to scoff at despite being a retired professional bodybuilder, as one troll recently discovered on Twitter. However, even though the five-time Mr. Universe is comfortable in his own skin, he was caught off guard by co-star Linda Hamilton‘s ripped appearance in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Schwarzenegger recalled the first time he saw Hamilton’s arms in his new three-part Netflix documentary series Arnold, saying:

“A few days before we start shooting [director] Jim Cameron says to me, let’s all get together and have a nice dinner. Linda comes in and then she takes her sweater off and I’m looking at her arms. Veins on the biceps and then the triceps — everything was like a bodybuilder except miniature. I said, ‘I can’t believe that son of a bitch is f—ing more cut than me.'”

Regardless, the Terminator 2‘s two buff leads got along swimmingly, and the movie ended up collecting between $519 and $520.9 million worldwide, making it 1991’s highest-grossing film and the third-highest-grossing film of its time. Even more so than its Saturn, BAFTA, and Academy Award victories attest, Terminator 2 is also universally hailed as an all-time great and a top pick for science fiction and action fans. Furthermore, the movie is regarded as one of the most important visual effects films of all time, marking the beginning of the change from actual effects to CGI. 

Apart from discussing his work on Terminator 2, Schwarzenegger, currently enjoying Netflix success with the action-comedy television series FUBAR, also gets personal in the intimate docuseries, which tracks his journey from bodybuilding champion to Hollywood icon and politician. Arnold, which premiered on June 7, also delves into Schwarzenegger’s private struggles, such as his affair with family housekeeper Mildred Baena, which resulted in the birth of his son Joseph Baena while he was still married to Maria Shriver.