Simply Abu Dhabi XXXV

9 5 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Q: What actors did you admire growing up? The first actor that really got my attention was Kirk Douglas in The Vikings and Spartacus. Then the one that completely blewmy mind was Steve Reeves – maybe not a great actor, but his physique really inspired me. I was about 12 and a half years old and saw his movie called Hercules Unchained and the top of my head exploded. I remember thinking, "Oh wow. There it is. That's my future", and from that point on, I started to work out. I changed my body. Everything was geared from just going to one movie. Q: Was Arnold Schwarzenegger really your competition? Well, he stole everything he's got from me, and I remind him of that. No, I'm only kidding. Well, a little bit. Everyone needs a great competitive enemy. There's nothing better, and if I didn't have one, I'd create one. I need to compete against someone, all right? We had that rivalry going on because he's unbelievably competitive. Seven times Mr. Olympia. I said to him, "big deal." We'd be at each other's throats. Now, we're really great friends, you know what I mean? I'm better than he is, though... No, I'm just joking. No, I'm not. Yes I am! Q: What is the more difficult job: director, producer, screenwriter or actor? My daughter wanted to be a writer, and I said, "No, you don't." Writing is a horror. We're not talking about typing, we're talking about writing, which is an extremely difficult, precise endeavour that requires rewriting and rewriting. You read something and go, "I’ve got it!" The next morning, you go, "Who wrote this? It's horrible."When my daughter said she wanted to be a writer, I brought out maybe a hundred notebooks. She said, "All of that?" I said, "Yes. For every word that you're going to use, you're going to write 500 words that you don't.” She said, "I think I'll go back to college." I said, "Yes, you should." Out of acting and everything else, I think the most difficult thing is the written word. Of course, directing is literally a lifestyle. Directing becomes your reality and everything else is unreality. When it works, it's great. When it doesn't work, it's okay, too.