Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrated his first-ever television show, Netflix’s action-spy comedy “Fubar,” on Monday in Los Angeles.
“I just think that every stage in my career was an exciting stage,” Schwarzenegger told Variety. “I know normally you wouldn’t think that when you’re 75-years-old that there’s an exciting stage because most people are retired, but here I am.”
Schwarzenegger stars in “Fubar” as an almost-retired CIA operative alongside Monica Barbaro, who plays his daughter.
Milan Carter plays Schwarzenegger’s nerdy and unassuming, yet heroic, right-hand spy Barry. “What I really loved about playing Barry is that it’s not often you see a Black guy with an afro in the CIA,” Carter said. “So thank you, [series creator] Nick Santoro and Netflix, for taking a chance and representing differences.”
“My favorite moment was when Fortune [Feimster] couldn’t say the line, ‘Boro Polonia, I’m gonna fry his bologna.’” said Carter. “That one line took over 30 minutes. And once she finally got it right we went over to the break room and Arnold was like, ‘Today, we became family.’ He was waiting for us to just be normal, to mess up and have fun.”
Feimster, who plays CIA spy Roo in the show, gave her side of the story. “By the time I finally got it, the whole room cheered and Arnold was cracking up. The best part is making him laugh. I think that’s what we were all striving to do while shooting.”
Fabiana Udenio, who plays Schwarzenegger’s ex-wife Tally in the series, had her own challenges. “My goal was to not be intimidated and to be natural around Arnold,” she told Variety. “I have one memory, from when I had a really sad scene where I had to cry. Arnold was trying to talk to me about the scene and be friendly, but I wanted to focus on the crying so I couldn’t be friendly, and I was a bit standoff-ish.”
But that all ended when they wrapped the scene.
“Arnold said, ‘Oh, you have something on you.’ So I’m wiping it and wiping it. And I have this piece of snot hanging from my hair, and I go, ‘Oh my god!’ and Arnold says, ‘It’s attacking you!’” Udenio recalled. “So that was an icebreaker, and after that, I didn’t have to worry about anything else.”
Schwarzenegger’s son, Joseph Baena, also walked the carpet. “It’s always cute seeing his vulnerable, little fatherly side. I love it,” he said about his dad’s work on the show.
When asked about what wisdom his action-hero dad has imparted, he said, “The main thing he always tells me is, ‘You gotta put the reps in. It’s practice, practice, practice,’” said Baena, who stars in the upcoming action film “Gunner” with Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth.
