Alongside George Clooney, 1997’s “Batman & Robin” starred Alicia Silverstone, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman, and of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze. The action legend was shooting “Eraser” when he said Warner Bros. “begged” him to play the central villain in “Batman & Robin.” Arnie’s casting actually caused a full rewrite of the Mr. Freeze character, which saw much of the Shakespearean-style language cut in favor of dialogue more befitting the Austrian Oak’s distinctive cadence (mostly terrible ice puns).
Interestingly, Schwarzenegger is one of the only people involved who has no regrets about his role in “Batman & Robin.” That probably has to do with the unwavering self-confidence that made him the biggest movie star in the world, but it might also have to do with how much fun the guy was having on set.
Since transitioning to Hollywood following the success of the bodybuilding docudrama “Pumping Iron,” Arnie has been known for his laid-back, affable demeanor on sets. Back in the mid-’80s, his “Predator” co-star Sonny Landham spoke about how, “a star is not only to sell tickets, he’s got to take command of the set and be a leader.” And according to the other actors on that film, Schwarzenegger not only took command of the set, but he also kept things light-hearted and fun. As actor Shane Black put it, “He’s very open, he’s very accessible, and he’s a lot of fun. He sits there chomping a cigar, he tells jokes.” In fact, the script had to include cigars precisely because Arnie couldn’t stop smoking his signature stogies, which would still be in evidence by the time he started work on “Batman & Robin,” — a film that took his light-hearted approach to being on-set to the extreme.
