Arnold Schwarzenegger chose to be a part of "Predator" instead of taking the lead role in "Full Metal Jacket," the acclaimed film directed by the legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick.
There is no doubt that Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most memorable Hollywood stars. Known previously for taking the field of bodybuilding by storm, he slowly began to climb his acting career until he succeeded with big movies like Terminator, Total Recall, or Predator.
Precisely this last film could not have starred him, because at that time the bodybuilding star was in the sights of one of the most prestigious filmmakers in Hollywood, Stanley Kubrick himself.
Although any new actor would kill to work with a legendary filmmaker like Stanley Kubrick, Arnold Schwarzenegger preferred to skip the director to star in Predator.
Kubrick wanted Schwarzenegger as the protagonist of the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, playing the role of Animal Mother, a character that, although the director saw the Terminator star as perfect, was ultimately played by Adam Baldwin.
Arnold Schwarzenegger believed that he wasn't the ideal choice for the part, leading him to decline the starring role in Stanley Kubrick's movie. Instead, he opted to join the cast of "Predator," a decision that played a pivotal role in shaping his acting career.
Starring, among others, Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Adam Baldwin, and Arliss Howard, Full Metal Jacket is a war drama whose plot follows a group of recruits as they prepare at a training center in the North American Navy.
The group is under the orders of Sergeant Hartman, a tough and relentless guy whose only mission in life is to harden the body and soul of the rookies so that in the future they can defend themselves against the enemy. However, not all young people are prepared to endure his methods.
