In the opening credits of Predator, the audience is introduced to, Dutch, who is in a helicopter, cigar in mouth and smoke billowing from his face. Talk about BADASS!
The lead character, Dutch, is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom in real life is a well-known cigar aficionado. There are multiple times Dutch lights up a cigar in the movie which brings a certain charisma and helps to establish a “macho man” aura. Rumor has it that Carl Weathers was annoyed by Arnold’s constant cigar smoking in between sets, however, Arnold told Carl it helped him stay calm and focused. Using Arnold’s approach, Carl asked Arnold for a cigar just to keep in his mouth for aesthetic purposes and to help him relax. Eventually, Carl lit the cigar and before long he was having his own Ashton’s flown to set. To this day, Arnold is a proud cigar connoisseur and was even named “Cigar Smoker of the Year” by Cigar Aficionado in 2014. Arnold is a true movie icon and the cigars in his films deserve their own credit. While he is known for loving his Punch Punch and Cohiba cigars, it is unknown what he is actually smoking on the set of Predator. He always carried around extras and was known to share cigars with fellow actors and crew members in between shooting scenes. There may have been the occasional exploding cigar as a practical joke.
Fun Movie Facts:
1) It was originally titled, Hunter, but changed to Predator after production.
2) The film was shot in Mexico and because most of the area they filmed in had shed its leaves already, many fake leaves had to be brought in to make the jungle more lush.
3) Hawkins, who was played by Shane Black, had written the screenplay for Lethal Weapon.
4) This was Jesse “The Body” Ventura’s first movie.
5) Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast to play the predator but was fired after complaining about how uncomfortable the suit was.
