← Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Interview Only: Stephen A interviews Arnold Schwarzenegger about hit Netflix series and California's immigration issue.
00:23:07
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- [00:00]
Stephen A. Smith
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
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NBC News Advertiser
NBC Nightly News legacy isn't handed down or NBC News.
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Tom Brokaw
I'm Tom Brokaw.
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Stephen A. Smith
We hope to see you back here.
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Lester Holt
I'm Lester Holt. It's carried forward. Tom Yamas is there for us. Firefighters are still working around the clock. As the world changes, we look for what endures. We are coming on the air with breaking news right now. We look for a constant and from one era to the next, trust is the anchor For NBC Nightly News. I'm Tom Yamas. A new chapter begins NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas evenings on NBC.
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Tom Brokaw
My next guest knows a thing or two about the state of California. He served as the 38th governor of the state and he happens to be an Emmy and Golden Globe award winning actor. He now stars and executive produces the Netflix hit series fubar. Please welcome the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger to the show. Sir, it is an honor and a privilege. How are you?
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Stephen A. Smith
I'm doing terrific, thank you. I came back from Austria just a few days ago and with a little cough. So if I have a cough attack in the middle of this, just, you know, be patient with me.
- [01:51]
Tom Brokaw
Okay? Listen, and I can do you one better, damn it. I run this show. I'll pause, cut out the cough and then get right back to you so nobody will notice the cough. So you don't have to worry about it. You have to worry, think about it.
- [02:03]
Stephen A. Smith
Listen, very nice of you.
- [02:05]
Tom Brokaw
Very nice honor before we get into fubar, because I can't wait to talk to you about that Netflix series. I really have enjoyed watching it and I can't wait to talk to you about it. But news obviously takes precedent first. Before we get into that series, I wanted to get your thoughts on the current unrest taking place in Los Angeles after ICE agents raided several businesses and protests that led President Donald Trump to order the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to the city. What's your reaction to all of this?
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Stephen A. Smith
My reaction is I hope that they solve this problem as quickly as possible. As you know that Los Angeles has gone through some really bad fires recently. And I think this is the last thing that we need right now. And I just hope that they will solve this as quickly as possible because it's going to hurt the people of Los Angeles, it's going to hurt tourism, it's going to hurt business, the revenues, which they're always short of, Los Angeles and the state of California. So I just really hope that all of them can coordinate that and work together and solve those problems as quickly as possible.
- [03:12]
Tom Brokaw
As mentioned, you served as California's governor from 2003 to 2011. As a Republican in a traditionally Democratic state, Homeland security czar Tom Holman appeared to threaten to arrest Governor Gavin Newsom before he walked back. That comment on Fox News this morning warning Newsom says he's now suing the Trump administration for involving the National Guard. To begin with, what are your thoughts on how Governor Newsom is responding to the ICE raids and the National Guard being on the ground in la?
- [03:39]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, you know, the last thing I ever do is criticize a sitting governor. I think that, you know, when you have been in this job, you know how challenging it is and on top of it, you know, we have a different point of view and a lot of things. I'm a Republican and he's a Democrat, so he thinks differently about those kind of issues and about a lot of issues as far as that goes. But I never will criticize him because he has to do it his way. People elected him as a Democrat and people elected me as a Republican. So I did it my way. I was always, when I was governor, very inclusive. I worked with the Democrats and the Republicans and declined the state and the independents. I worked with everyone together to solve this problem. But we built immigration problems then and we have immigration problems now. It's just really a shortfall and a shortcoming of the politicians because they never solve the problems. And this is a creation by the politicians in a way because they don't solve the problem. The immigration issue can be resolved very quickly by giving more in a working permits and student visas to people, and then they don't have to come in here legally. So to me, that is a way to solve it. Democrats and Republicans can come together on this issue and solve this issue.
- [04:56]
Tom Brokaw
Arnold, do you find this to be a nationwide issue or is it a special circumstance? In the case of California, the immigration.
- [05:04]
Stephen A. Smith
Issue has been going on since Ronald Reagan. And I think that the idea was always that to solve this issue and for decades after decades, the politicians didn't because each one of the parties is interested to not solving it because they can raise money based on that. Republicans do the hard line and the Democrats do the inclusive kind of spiel. And so they ought to raise money on that. They all campaign on that. So they don't really want to solve it. To me, those problems are there. As a politician, you have the responsibility not to be a party servant, but to be a public servant. And in order to serve the public, you have to solve this problem and to make it a coherent kind of immigration policy. Right now, we don't have one last.
- [05:52]
Tom Brokaw
Question on this issue. You publicly endorsed Kamala Harris. The Democratic Party appears to be in flux as facts come to light about Joe Biden's fitness to serve a certain term, a second term. What does the party need to do to get back on track? In your estimation, even though you were not a member of that party, what advice would you give them?
- [06:12]
Stephen A. Smith
You know, no advice. I think that they will figure it out themselves of the mistakes that they've made in the past as much as the Republicans always have to figure it out, and the mistakes they've made in order to get reelected again. And so I think they will figure out they're very, very smart people in the party, and the Republicans have very smart people in the party. The important thing is just kind of like to kind of serve the people. And if you can prove that you can help the people's lives and you can put so they can put food on the table, they can take care of their families, if you can do that, then you can get the vote. If you run the other way and if you're just kind of a political hack that only serves the party, then you have the danger that people would abandon you and go in the other direction.
- [07:00]
Tom Brokaw
Listen, that's all I got to ask you about that on this particular subject because I've got to get into your series on Netflix. Mr. Arnold Swartz, season two of football begins streaming on June 12th. Talk to Me about this series. I love it. I gotta admit it. I love the father daughter dynamic, both CIA agents. It's been fabulous. What made you decide to do this?
- [07:25]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, they came to me with the idea of doing True Lies but on TV and to do it for streaming service, for Netflix. And I like the idea because True Lies was truly one of my favorite movies that I've ever done.
- [07:41]
Tom Brokaw
Yes.
- [07:42]
Stephen A. Smith
And because he has the right balance of comedy and action and drama and violence and fun stuff and love and family and all of this kind of combinations that I thought made the movie so successful. And so I Thought to myself, if we can do a version of that on tv, I think we will have a home run. And that's exactly what we hit in the first season. We had a home run. I mean, the amount of people that watched it was number one for endless amount of time. And so then, of course, Netflix decided to do number two. And not only to make it number two, but to also make me the chief action officer of Netflix. And now, you know, then that means that you're not only responsible for your action show, but for others as well. But the bottom line is, you know, I was delighted when they, you know, kind of pulled the trigger and said, we want to have a second season. And, you know, our contract is for two seasons anyway. And so I was happy that they did went in that direction and we were having a great time shooting it. The writers did a brilliant, brilliant story, you know, kind of job in writing it because I thought there's a lot of things I did not know when I got into this TV business. Like, for instance, you know, the beginning, the rating of the amount of people that watch the beginning of a series versus the amount of people that watch the end of a series. You know, the completion, what is the completion rate and all of those kind of things. So I was always wondering, why did the series start slow and then they kind of ramp it up. And you know, I've seen it now, the second season, I mean, it's like it starts out great and explains everything where we are and the action, the comedy laws. But all of a sudden, towards the end, it really starts ramping up the amount of action there is. And I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, maybe there's a little bit too much. But I mean, in any case, they did a fantastic job. And I was so happy to work with the same actors again as I worked in the first one, except Carrie and Moss came to become part of the team and an old love from decades ago and she helped me bring down the Berlin Wall and to fight communism and all of those kind of things. So that whole backdrop story came back again. And of course now I'm having a dilemma with an old love and I'm, you know, have a wife that I want to gain back. And there's all of that going on in the midst of all this huge, huge scale action. And in comedy, in the midst of.
- [10:18]
Tom Brokaw
All of that, with you scheduled to turn 78 years of age, if I remember correctly, come late July, July 30, if I remember correctly, I mean, do. How shocked are you at the success that you're having at this stage and point in your life and in your career, you're Mr. Action. You brought up True Lies, Jamie Lee Curtis. Let not, let's not forget how fabulous she was in that movie and how fabulous of a movie it was over. But I imagine that you had some reservations as to whether or not you'd be able to achieve this level of success at this stage and point of your career yet, and still you're here and you're doing it well.
- [10:56]
Stephen A. Smith
I mean, first of all, you're absolutely right. You know, if you get older, then there is not as much interest in you as a major star than it is with younger guys. And I benefited from that when I was 30, 35, 40, 50 years old, and others are benefiting from that. So that's clear. But my kind of staying power has been, because I think I chose wisely the kind of projects that I did. And yes, there was a danger, and I think that's the point that you're hitting, is not only the age, but I was governor for seven years, and those seven years I did not do a movie or TV show or anything like this. So there were just, you know, replays of other shows that they've done in the past. And so it's very hard to then come back again after that. And by that time, also, half of the people, you know, Republicans, half are Democrats. They say, well, he was a Republican. I don't want to watch your show, and all this. So you go through all of that also at the same time. And but that the bottom line is, is that I'm very fortunate that I was able to kind of come back after I was finished with the governorship and that I'm at the place where I'm now. But I have to tell you, the main reason for this is that I'm in America because America still is the land of opportunity. It's the greatest country in the world. And no matter how many problems we have and how many kind of debates there about leadership and this and that, and, you know, the Congress not accomplishing everything and all of those kind of things, and at the riots, I mean, it is the greatest country in the world. I just came from overseas and at an environmental conference in Vienna, and people still today come up to me and say, please, Arnold, can you help me to get to America just like it was 50 years ago? And they asked me, can I help them to come to America? So, I mean, the desire for people wanting to come here is because it is the greatest country with the most opportunities, and I've seen it firsthand. And everything that I've ever accomplished, which was my movie career, which was my family, the money that I made, end up becoming governor of the great state of California, the environmental action, the after school programs that they've created, my work with Special Olympics, all of this stuff happened because I was in America. And so I love this country. And I cannot wait to celebrate this 250th anniversary.
- [13:27]
Tom Brokaw
The feelings that you have that you just described about the United States of America, I imagine you, you have always felt that way, but has it elevated since you were governor, like being a governor of a state as large as California, the second largest state in the United States of America, being a governor of that state for those years, did it make you elevate your level of appreciation for America even more so in the aftermath of being a governor than you had before you became governor?
- [14:00]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, I would say that, you know, I don't think that anything could elevate, okay, My enthusiasm got it about being in America since 1968, since I came here, and I was so enthusiastic being here. Then in 1983, I became an American citizen, and that elevated it. Of course, now I am an American. So that was fantastic. When you become governor, it makes you realize, since I didn't work my way up the political ladder, it makes you realize of how complicated things really are and how difficult it is really to work and to bring everyone together. Local government, state government, federal government. How you as a state could be kind of like an environmentally friendly state of. But the federal government has no interest. So you have to understand that. You have to understand that not everyone can think the way you do. And you have to appreciate that. And that's what I did. I worked with everyone together. I never looked at anyone as the enemy. And I always was very inclusive. And it made the capital of Sacramento kind of a university for me. I learned so much. And one thing I learned definitely is my interest in my love for policy. Not so much so for politics, but for policy solving problems. And how do we make life for people better?
- [15:29]
Tom Brokaw
Now that you're back, you're out of office, you're no longer an elected official. You're back in Hollywood. Are you enjoying it now more than you did before?
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Stephen A. Smith
I love it. You know, and. But it's. It's not just, you know, doing fuba. It's not just being on a set of food and working with wonderful actors and actresses and all of that. It is that the whole combination of the movie business TV business, the environmental work that I do, the after school program work that I do. My great, great family, I mean, my kids, I'm so proud of them. And yesterday my daughter came over with her three. With her three kids. And my grandchildren just love coming over to my house and feeding the animals and Lulu and Whiskey, my donkey and my, you know, the dogs.
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Tom Brokaw
Okay.
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Stephen A. Smith
You know, and the pig and everywhere. I mean, they just love coming over and doing all of that with me. And so they love their opa. That's what they call me. Opa.
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Tom Brokaw
Right. How do you feel about doing tv? Because this is your first ever TV role. You've been doing movies all of these years, but to my understanding, this is your first TV role. Correct.
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Stephen A. Smith
It is the first TV series and it is quite different because you work much faster. Yeah. So you don't have much time. You know, in the movies, you maybe shoot three to four pages a day. When you do a TV, it's like seven, eight, nine pages a day, sometimes even 10 to 12 pages a day. So it really moves much faster because there's not as big of a budget as it is with movies. But I mean, it's okay. You get used to that. You get very disciplined to learn your lines and to hit the mark. That is the most important thing in this business. You know, to me, it's like kind of like listen to the director, listen to the writers and hit your marks and say your dialogue and then work, work, work. I feel like when I do like a movie, I feel like I'm a plumber. I get up in the morning at 6 o' clock in the morning and I go to work and they do exactly what they ask me to do. And then they go home at night and you crash in bed or you go and have some time to work out a little bit. Because fitness and working out is very important. But I tell you, it is. If this doesn't matter how old you are, if you have a clear vision of making something successful and being involved in a great project like this Netflix project is Fuba. I mean, then you're enthusiastic about the whole thing. You have energy and you want to go out there and promote it. Like sitting here right now and talking to you, it's not a job for me.
- [18:16]
Tom Brokaw
Right.
- [18:17]
Stephen A. Smith
It's fun for me. I love talking about you, about to you, about my projects and about Fuba and all of those kind of things. So some people consider this as a job and part of the job. I don't consider that job. I consider it as a fun thing to do.
- [18:31]
Tom Brokaw
I always tell people the difference between a job and a career is a job is doing what you have to do to sustain or elevate your quality of life. A career is doing what you want to do. It just so happens to do those things. And you're talking about a career. And by the way, football. I mean, I got to talk to you about the title of this show. Now it's originally, you know, the acronym originated in the military, which stands for a situation that is effed up beyond all recognition. Is that what FUBAR stands for with the title of this show or is there another.
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Stephen A. Smith
Yet? FUBA stands for fucked up beyond all recognition. Yes, exactly.
- [19:10]
Tom Brokaw
Yes.
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Stephen A. Smith
Yeah, that's what it is.
- [19:11]
Tom Brokaw
Did you pick that title?
- [19:13]
Stephen A. Smith
I know you cannot say it then because otherwise you get crucified.
- [19:17]
Tom Brokaw
Oh, I can say it up beyond all recognition. I just said it. Yes, I can say it.
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Stephen A. Smith
I like your style. That's what I like about you.
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Tom Brokaw
So did you come up with it? Did you come up with the title?
- [19:29]
Stephen A. Smith
I suggested it and I think everyone liked the idea because it originally a different title and then they went for it with this title and it's just such a great thing. I'm fuba. You know, it's just fun because everywhere you go in the world when you promote this thing, people always ask is this, what does it mean? What does FUBA mean? Then I tell them what it means and then they try to translate it in their own language. Of course then it doesn't work the same way. But I mean, that's what it means. The other thing that makes you show success for reason, I just want to add that is, which is maybe a term you don't know either or that you maybe don't know. And that is the seven P's okay.
- [20:10]
Tom Brokaw
You know, but I do not. Educate me please.
- [20:14]
Stephen A. Smith
Proper, proper prior planning prevents pissed poor performance.
- [20:19]
Tom Brokaw
Okay, okay.
- [20:21]
Stephen A. Smith
That is very important because this show was really well written. This show was very well prepared. And that is the most important thing is did you go there for rehearsals? Did you work on the stunts? Did you work on all the magic stuff that you see on the screen? And then you go all out with that. But it's the proper prior planning that prevents pissed poor performance.
- [20:43]
Tom Brokaw
You know, last question. I'm thinking about this now and I'm asking myself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, an elite bodybuilder, world class athlete, an action hero and what have you. You're approaching your 78th birthday and you seem like you can go on and on, like you've Got so much time left because you got so much energy. What's your advice to those out there who are younger, who haven't achieved as much yet? Walk around far too often acting like they're tired. What would you say to those folks about what they need to do to get a little spry in their steps to be as energized as Arnold Schwarzenegger appears to do? As he's talking about his Netflix hit series fubar, right here with your boy, Stephen A. Smith. What advice would you give?
- [21:30]
Stephen A. Smith
Stephen? I tell you one thing, and I think you talked about that many times, and that is the only way you can have energy is when you have a vision. Because when you have a vision, that means that you have a specific goal that you want to go and chase after. And so everything that you do basically is a step closer to this goal and making this goal a reality. And so to me, when I was working out in the gym five hours a day, I didn't say to myself, oh my God, I cannot wait until I have my 50 or 500 sit ups over or oh my God, I have to do another set of deadlifts with £550 and £600. I didn't do any of that. I was looking forward to every single rep and every exercise that I did because it got me one step closer to this vision I had of being Mr. Universe, being the world champion in bodybuilding. And the same was also the case with acting. When everyone said you would never be an actor, you would never be a leading man, I was fighting and fighting because I had a clear vision of being another Clint Eastwood or another one of the Hercules characters in the movies or something like that. So there's no one could shy me away from that. So that gave me energy. The same as when I had a vision about what to do with California. I ran for governor. I could really talk to the people very openly and clearly about what I want to do with California. And they bought in because it was very clear and because I had a very clear vision. So I think this is, it's all about the vision. Because the vision makes you have a purpose and a goal and then you chase after that. So no matter how old you are, as long as you have a vision, you're gonna be on the right track and you will always have energy.
- [23:17]
Tom Brokaw
I just wanna let you know it's such an honor and a privilege to have been talking to you. I've been a fan for many, many years. True Lies is one of my all time favorite movies. I love Total Recall. Oh, by the way, are you ready for this? One of my favorite. It's almost as crazy to say everybody talks about Terminator. Terminator, Terminator. You know, another movie of yours I loved Kindergarten Cop. I loved that one. You're saying when you were a school teacher, for crying out loud. You know, a cop masquerading a school teacher. I've loved you for years and I can't thank you enough. And this Netflix series, fubar, is special. It's got that kind of potential. I really like it. I really enjoy it and I'm honored to have had you on the show, man. Thank you so much.
- [23:55]
Stephen A. Smith
Thank you very much. It was a great pleasure. Thank you for having me.
- [23:57]
Tom Brokaw
All right, buddy. You take care of yourself. The one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger right here on the Stephen A. Smith show. You can catch the season two premiere of Fubar June 12th on Netflix. I know I'm not gonna miss it. I watched all the episodes from season one. I'm telling y' all is a hell of a show. It's a hell of a show.
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Stephen A. Smith
Awe.
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- [25:20]
Stephen A. Smith
This is an I heart podcast.