Arnold Schwarzenegger shocked Andy Cohen during an interview about "Watch What Happens Live" when he revealed that "Twins" from 1988 was personally the most profitable film of his career. Despite the massive success of "The Terminator" franchise, "Twins" brought Schwarzenegger a check north of 40 million US dollars.<\/p>\n
Schwarzenegger explained that the deal for "Twins" included a piece of the backend, which meant that he and co-star Danny DeVito would receive a percentage of the film’s profits. "Well, number one was ‘Twins’ because we had no money for the salary than ownership with a piece of the backend," said Schwarzenegger. This deal turned out to be "fantastic" for the actors, as they were able to reap the benefits of the film’s success.<\/p>\n
When asked whether he deserved more than $20 million from the success of "Twins", Schwarzenegger said that his last payday was more than that. In fact, when asked whether it exceeded 40 million US dollars, the actor replied: "It was more than that. It was more than any film that I ever made." This massive payday was a result of the film’s huge commercial success, both in theaters and on home video.<\/p>\n
"Twins" marked a departure from Schwarzenegger’s usual action-oriented roles, as he and DeVito played fraternal twin brothers. At the time, Schwarzenegger was known for his action films like "The Terminator", "Predator", and "Conan the Barbarian", but his comedy chops were relatively untested. However, the film’s success proved that Schwarzenegger could excel in comedic roles as well.<\/p>\n
Schwarzenegger recalled that many people were skeptical about casting him in a comedy. "Why should you? [cast me in a comedy?] You said: ‘Are you crazy? The more people that this type kills on the screen, the more money we earn. Why should we change that?’" However, Ivan Reitman and Danny DeVito saw an opportunity to make a comedy with Schwarzenegger, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n
To make the film, Schwarzenegger and DeVito had to come up with a new approach. "If we do not take salaries, we can make the film for $16.5 million. We have worked out a deal with which we have 40% of the backend of the film. It happened to be the best offer we have ever made." This deal allowed the film to be made on a relatively low budget, while still providing the actors with a significant share of the profits.<\/p>\n
Despite the success of "Twins", a sequel was never made. However, Schwarzenegger and DeVito had planned a follow-up entitled "Triplets", which would have added Eddie Murphy to the cast. Unfortunately, Ivan Reitman passed away before the project could move forward.<\/p>\n
To see Schwarzenegger’s full appearance in "Watch What Happens Live", check out the video below.<\/p>\n