Arnold Schwarzeneggeris arguablythe single greatest action star of all time, and there’s nobody in history who has better fulfilled the fantasy of an impossibly buff dude easily murdering hundreds of people while simultaneously being a charismatic lightning rod of personality that audiences want to root for. He’s honestly a mutant — it doesn’t make sense how a guy that tall and that muscular and that handsome can also have such an identifiably human persona underneath it all. He is able to transcend everything that makes him seem so unrelatable, thanks to his ability to surprise, and actually act and deliver on the emotion that’s called for. While he may be a beloved figure, it still feels likehe’s not given much credit as an actual actor, and is still clowned on mostly for his accent and his stilted delivery. This is a shame, as it disregards the real skill he implements into a role when asked to do so; to demonstrate that, let’s look atone of his best roles: Ivan Danko inRed Heat.
A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Takes a Modest Approach to ‘Red Heat’
Red Heatis the story of Ivan Danko, a by-the-books Russian police officer who’s tasked with chasing down a Georgian drug lord who killed Danko’s partner. The drug lord escapes to Chicago to set up a big money deal, so Danko must team up with Art Ridzik (Jim Belushi), a Chicago detective who’s the stereotypical loose cannon; from there, a pretty standardbuddy cop movieplays out, where the plot isn’t even worth paying all that much attention to. What’s worthy of your attention isSchwarzenegger’s performance, as it showcases how he exhibits his true skills as an actor in a way that doesn’t draw attention to himself and is only in service to the character.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Almost Drowned Filming This Movie
And it wasn’t even the first time he almost lost his life on a movie set!
He avoids showing any kind of extreme emotion (outside of yelling, I suppose), and instead provides a more subtle emotional presence that makes him feel like a more grounded, tangible person. While a lot of other action stars likeSylvester StalloneorDwayne Johnsoncarry themselves like the center of the universe, where the whole movie and all the actors have to revolve around them,Schwarzenegger’s lack of narcissism positions him as the biggest piece of a larger work — not the center of it— and therefore allows himself to fit more naturally with the actors and the reality of the fictional world.
Why Ivan Danko Is One of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Best Characters
It’s best to figure outwhy Schwarzenegger is so great in this roleby first breaking down who Ivan Danko is as a character. Ivan is established as a deeply serious-minded and loyal cop, willing to travel across countries to honor the memory of a fallen comrade he may not even have been close friends with. Ivan is indeed the classic “by-the-book” stoic who doesn’t suffer fools kindly, though what makes him unique is that he isn’t actively an asshole to those who don’t follow his way. Rather than being abrasive or a know-it-all to those who don’t understand him, he’s simply cold and cannot be bothered to trifle with the simpletons. In other words, it’s not active malice and condescension that colors his behavior, but pride, efficiency, and dignity. It’s established that he’s somebody who knows how to maintain his emotions in a restrained manner, as shown early on when he findsa secret cocaine stashafter defeating some of the main villain’s thugs, and his eyes go wide in a fierce righteous victory. Similarly, whenever someone (usually Ridzik) says something that ticks him off, rather than yell at him, Danko will stare daggers at him in an exasperated slow burn.
With all of this being said, what brings it all together isSchwarzenegger’s command as an actor working well within his range.Schwarzenegger anddirectorWalter Hillknew that the key to a great performance wasn’t for him to try to reinvent himself or stretch himself too far; the key was for Schwarzenegger to be comfortable, to focus on specific behavior details, and to have him approach the role as a dramatic one,rather than a comedic one. Schwarzenegger plays every scene like it’s a straight drama, so his reactions feel genuine and grounded, while everyone around him is in more of a straight-up comedy.
When Ridzik exasperatedly says he’s “shitting him,” Schwarzenegger says “I am not shitting on you” with honest confusion (and a little irritation); when Ridzik confirms he said something sarcastic, Danko softly goes “Oh” with disappointment. When Ridzik says that the Miranda rights won’t allow Danko to “touch someone’s ass” (referring to beating them up), Danko says, “I do not want to touch his ass, I want to make him talk” with total conviction that comes not from being socially awkward, but from being fed up with the distraction of not knowing what it means. Danko even gets an entire character arc with Ridzik based solely around how he says “thank you” to him that could only work becauseSchwarzenegger has the emotional controlto project what he actually means with each utterance of the word.
‘Red Heat’ Gives Context to Schwarzenegger’s Physique
The other important element that comes into play is Schwarzenegger’s body. Most films at the time were terrible atcontextualizing Schwarzenegger’s form (or accent, for that matter). It makes no sense that a regular American man in films likeTrue Lies,Commando, orTotal Recalllooks like a marble mountain and has an accent most audiences at the time probably couldn’t even accurately guess where it came from. Making him a Russian supercop who moves with the measured graceof the Terminatorand is introduced in a bathhouse surrounded by men who are almost as big and buff as he is makes it easier to believe his girth.
Also, one small detail that comes up a lot is how Ivan is so determined in his actions that he essentially never moves unless he says so. If he’s told to sit down but doesn’t want to, he simply won’t; if he’s walking down a hall and people are crowded around him, they have to move for him. When he’s finally made to do something he doesn’t want to do and give up his gun, Schwarzenegger does so while using his eyes to project a seething indignation that’s genuinely impressive to witness.
‘Red Heat’ Lets Us See a Side to Arnold Schwarzenegger We Don’t Often Get
A behind-the-scenes detail that helps provide insight into how Schwarzenegger pulled this off is that, in his autobiography, Schwarzenegger said that Walter Hill told him to watchGreta Garbo’s performance inNinotchka"to get a handle on how Danko should react as a loyal Soviet in the West." He also acknowledged that it was “a role for which my own accent was a plus.” This not only supports the notion that Hill understood that giving Schwarzenegger an accent that didn’t stray too far from his own would be beneficial to him as an actor, but also shows what might be the most underappreciated aspect of Arnold’s career: he approached it as an actual actor.
While, of course, he understands that he is mainly beloved for his one-liners charisma, and his enormous muscles, there are multiple times whenSchwarzenegger fully bought in on being true to a character, rather than forcing the character to fit his ideal mold. He thought it would be more interesting to see astrong guy like him out of his element and scared inTotal Recall; according toIan Nathan’sJames Cameron: A Retrospective, he gaveJames Cameronthe idea of doingTrue Liesbecause he was intrigued by the idea of playing a man who’s both a secret spy and a family man. He also avoidedLinda HamiltonandMichael Biehnon the set ofThe Terminatorso that he wouldn’t form any emotional connection to them. All this to say that,in an era where modern action heroes are obsessed with hiding vulnerability on screen, the attention Schwarzenegger pays to the emotional truth of Ivan Danko is what makes it one of his best performances.
If there’s any reason why this performance isn’t brought up more, it could be the fact that this movie wasn’t that big of a hit and wasn’t remembered very fondly by critics or audiences.Twinswas released the same year, and swallowed up all the attention, both critically and commercially. The fact that the louder, broader comedy with Schwarzenegger as a more overtly comedic character is the one that became remembered as an important part of his career overRed Heatis a sign not just of audiences' tastes for how they wanted to see the actor at the time, but it goes to show how people should have appreciated the variety that Schwarzenegger can bring to roles.
Red Heatis available to buy on Prime Video and Apple TV+ in the U.S.
