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Arnold Schwarzenegger Was "Actually Quite Rude" on Set, Co-Star Says

British actor Miriam Margolyes shared a shocking story about their time working together.

Among British actor Miriam Margolyes' most famous roles are in the Harry Potter franchise, Romeo + Juliet, and The Age of Innocence, among others. But she's also known for being direct and speaking her mind, which is why perhaps it's no surprise that she was recently very open about her experience working with Arnold Schwarzenegger on the 1999 horror movie End of Days. During a new interview on news.com.au's podcast I've Got News for You, Margolyes was asked if there are any A-list celebrities she didn't enjoy meeting or working with. The actor immediately knew her answer—though it took her a moment to remember his name. Read on to see what she had to say about the actor-turned-politician's allegedly questionable behavior.

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Margolyes and Schwarzenegger worked together over 20 years ago.

Arnold Schwarzenegger at a press conference for "End of Days" in 1999
Peter Carrette Archive/Getty Images

Schwarzenegger and Margolyes appeared together in End of Days, which is about a detective (Schwarzenegger) who must save a woman (Robin Tunney) who has been chosen to conceive the Antichrist with Satan (Gabriel Byrne). Margolyes played Mabel, who is part of Satan's mission and gets into a physical fight with Schwarzenegger's character.

Margolyes said Schwarzenegger was "rude."

Miriam Margolyes at the London Film Festival in 1999
Michael Crabtree – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

In response to a question about any co-stars or actors she's met who she wasn't a fan of, Margolyes responded, "I didn't like the wrestler, you know, from Austria. What's his name?" When the host helped her remember, she continued, "Schwarzenegger. I couldn't think of his name for a minute. Schwarzenegger. Didn't care for him."

The 81-year-old actor explained, "He's a bit too full of himself. I don't care for him at all. He's a Republican, which I don't like. And he was actually quite rude."

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Then, she launched into an interesting story.

Arnold Schwarzenegger at the premiere of "The 6th Day" in 2000
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

Why did Margolyes find Schwarzenegger rude? Here's how she tells it.

"He farted in my face. Now, I fart. Of course I do. But I don't fart in people's faces. He did it deliberately right in my face," Margolyes told I've Got News for You.

Asked when and where this happened, she explained, "I can't remember the date, but it was during the filming of End of Days in Los Angeles. And I was playing Satan's sister, and [Schwarzenegger's character] was killing me, so he had me in a position where I couldn't escape and lying on the floor (laughs)." She added, "And he just farted. It wasn't on film, it was in one of the pauses, but I haven't forgiven him for it."

She once called him "a pig."

Miriam Margolyes on "The Graham Norton Show" in 2020
Isabel Infantes/PA Images via Getty Images

This isn't the first time Margolyes has shared her memories of working with Schwarzenegger. In a 2016 piece for The Guardian, she called him a "pig" and spoke out about how he allegedly treated other women.

"Arnold Schwarzenegger is a pig of a man," Margolyes said. "We worked together [on the blockbuster End of Days] in 1999, and although he was relatively professional with me—because he didn't fancy me—he was awfully gropey with women he was interested in. He thought a lot of himself, but I wasn't surprised: he was a bodybuilder from Austria who went on to became a worldwide star."

Schwarzenegger addressed groping claims about him in 2003, just before he was elected governor of California. (He served in the office until 2011.)

"It is true that I was on rowdy movie sets and I have done things that were not right which I thought then was playful," he said, according to The Guardian. "But now I recognize that I offended people. Those people that I have offended, I want to say to them I am deeply sorry about that and I apologize because that's not what I'm trying to do."

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Margolyes registered her disapproval with Schwarzenegger at the time.

Miriam Margolyes at the Pride of Britain Awards in 2016
Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images

Margolyes has told her story about filming the scene with Schwarzenegger before. And she said that she let him know how upset she was at the time.

"I was in the horror film End of Days with him in 1999, playing the Devil's servant Mabel," she told Reader's Digest UK. "I had my throat sliced by a glass table at the end, and I remember Schwarzenegger farted right in my face when I was down on the floor, trying not to move. I shouted, '[Expletive] you, Arnie!' I was really cross."

Lia Beck
Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Best Life, she has written for Refinery29, Bustle, Hello Giggles, InStyle, and more. Read more
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