The science fiction movie “Predator” is remembered as one of the best films in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career.
However, the actor has bad memories of filming this 1987 hit due to disastrous conditions on set.
The shooting was delayed for several months due to the actor’s commitments and began in March 1986 in Mexico.
Since the filming took place in the jungle, the entire crew struggled with insects, various diseases, and unfavorable temperatures. According to the Far Out website, the director lost more than ten kilograms due to digestive problems caused by dirty water.
A month after filming, Schwarzenegger took a break for his wedding to Maria Shriver. However, he was only on his honeymoon for three days because he had to return to the set. To stay in shape, the actor brought all his gym equipment with him and exercised every day before shooting began.
Alongside grueling training, the actor had to spend three weeks in cold mud to film a fight scene with an alien. Similarly, during the shooting of some scenes, he had to jump into cold water full of leeches.
“During the filming of Predator, I endured much worse things than when I was filming Conan,” Schwarzenegger stated in an interview with Cinefantastique.
“I fell from a waterfall and swam in water as cold as ice for days, then I was covered in mud for weeks.”
“It’s very cold in the Mexican jungle. Heat lamps were on all the time, but they didn’t help. If you stood in front of the lamps, the mud would dry out. Then you had to wash it off and apply a new layer of mud,” the actor explained.
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Schwarzenegger also disliked that the filming took place on a hill.
“The terrain was challenging. We weren’t on flat ground; we were on a hill all the time. We stood on that hill all day, with one foot down and the other up. It was terrible,” the actor recalled.
However, the ordeal eventually paid off. Predator achieved great commercial success and even earned an Oscar nomination. Although initial reviews were mixed, over time the film has become a classic of the action genre.
