Arnold Schwarzenegger is a living legend, and one of the most famous faces on the planet. As a celebrated bodybuilder, A-list actor, action cinema icon and former Governor of California, he’s lived one of the most unique and interesting lives. Thanks to his instantly recognizable accent, he’s also among the most widely-quoted public figures in the world, which comes in handy when his back catalogue of movies are full of classic one-liners.
Of course, there’s one piece of dialogue in particular that’s stuck with him for almost four decades since he first said it in The Terminator in 1984, and the 73 year-old has gone on to repeat variations of “I’ll be back” in countless movies, not just the string of subpar sequels that he’s been returning in over the last few years.
As you may’ve heard, Schwarzenegger recently had heart surgery, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that he quoted the most famous line of his career just before he went under the knife. In case you didn’t know, the Total Recall star is a regular fixture on Reddit, and in response to a fan who wondered if one of the doctors had said “come with me if you want to live” when they wheeled him into the operating room, Schwarzenegger responded with another Terminator soundbite, saying:
“I will tell the team they missed a chance in between thanking them for their great work! If it makes you feel better, I did say ‘I’ll be back’ when they rolled me to the OR. Thank you to all of you for the kind words.”
Imagine being among the surgeons gathered around in full scrubs, preparing to perform heart surgery on Arnold Schwarzenegger, only for him to quote one of the most famous lines in pop culture. That must have generated a few laughs, and thankfully, the actor looks to be back on his feet now having already posted images on social media of his rapid recovery process.