Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals Which Film Earned Him The Biggest Paycheck Of His Career

Arnold Schwarzenegger has shared which movie brought in his biggest paycheck throughout his Hollywood career—and it’s probably not the one you’d guess right away.

Known for action-packed blockbusters like The Terminator, Commando, and Predator, the 77-year-old star has enjoyed one of the most iconic careers in film history. Along the way, he’s made some seriously impressive money from his roles.

But in a twist that might surprise fans, Schwarzenegger recently revealed that his most profitable film wasn’t any of those legendary action roles. Instead, it was a lesser-remembered comedy from 1988 that topped his earnings.

While working on this particular film, Schwarzenegger managed to include a special clause in his contract. This clever move ended up making him a fortune.

He starred in the movie alongside Danny DeVito, where the two played long-lost fraternal twins who were separated at birth and later reunited under unusual circumstances.

In an interview with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, Schwarzenegger confirmed that Twins was the film that ended up giving him the biggest paycheck of his entire career.

Arnold Schwarzenegger starred alongside Danny DeVito in the movie Universal Pictures

"Well, number one was Twins because we got no money for the salary but ownership with a piece of the back end," he said.

Both Schwarzenegger and DeVito agreed not to take any upfront salary, a decision that helped lower the movie’s budget to below $16.5 million. That financial choice ended up being a huge win for the action star.

Rather than earning money up front, they made a deal with the studio that gave them 40 percent of the movie’s back-end profits. Essentially, they were betting on the film becoming a hit—and that bet paid off.

As it turned out, Twins became a massive hit, pulling in more than $216 million globally. That success went far beyond what anyone involved had expected.

Thanks to the profit-sharing deal, it’s estimated that Schwarzenegger and DeVito earned over $80 million from their share alone.

Speaking on Watch What Happens Live, Schwarzenegger added: "It was fantastic. We went all the way to the bank with that."

When host Andy Cohen asked if the earnings from Twins crossed the $40 million mark, Schwarzenegger responded: "It was more than that. It was more than any movie I ever made."

In another recent interview, Schwarzenegger sat down with his son Patrick—who’s also an actor—for a chat with Variety, where they brought up Twins once again.

"Why would they [cast me in a comedy]?" Schwarzenegger said. "They said, 'Are you crazy? The more people that this guy kills on-screen, the more money we make. Why would we change that?' That was the dialogue until Ivan Reitman [director] and Danny DeVito came along."

He went on to explain further: "So I said, 'Why don't we all three take no money'. If we don't take any salaries, we can shoot the movie for $16.5 million. We worked out a deal where we got 40 percent of the backend of the movie. It happened to be the best deal we've ever made."