UFC superstar Conor McGregor bared all in his feature film debut in the “Road House” remake, citing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s nude scene in “The Terminator” as inspiration.
Conor McGregor, the UFC superstar, is making his big-screen debut. He’s stripping down for the role, and it’s quite the spectacle.
McGregor has declined numerous Hollywood offers over the years. But, he finally said yes to director Doug Liman. He’s starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the “Road House” remake. The film is set to premiere on Prime Video on March 21.
In the movie, McGregor isn’t just throwing punches or causing bar brawls. He’s playing a mercenary named Knox. And guess what? He’s showing some skin. This was a hot topic during the Q&A session after the film’s debut at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.
There’s a scene that’s been compared to a similar one from Patrick Swayze in the original 1989 film. McGregor had a good laugh about it. “It was a little too much ass,” he joked. “Just a little too much. The last shot was not necessary. Could have just been the back. The back was solid. I’m just here to perform.”
McGregor isn’t shy about flaunting his physique. A quick scroll through his social media proves that. But doing it in a feature film? That’s a whole different ball game. Especially when you have a wider audience watching a movie that’s going to be immortalized.
McGregor’s decision to go nude in “Road House” was influenced by his friendship with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger also bared it all in the infamous opening scene of the 1984 classic “The Terminator.”
“Arnold Schwarzenegger, who’s a good friend of mine, his lady Heather is my physical therapist,” McGregor shared. “[She] has helped me throughout my career, helped me from my world title from 2013 on, I became real close with Arnold,” He added, “Arnold’s first debut into the movie game was very similar.”
“Boom, lands down, solid as a rock [in “The Terminator”], if Arnie done it, and f****** look at his career, I said maybe I’m onto something. I just rocked with it, and I channeled the inner Arnie, the inner Terminator there and just rocked on.”
So far, “Road House” has been getting rave reviews. It’s a modern take on the 80s cult classic.
While McGregor’s main focus is still on fighting and making his UFC comeback, he admitted that acting is tougher than it looks. But he enjoyed his first Hollywood experience.
“It’s very hard work for sure,” he said. “All the characters, when I saw them come to life on the screen, I thought to myself as I was watching the movie, ‘I’m going to f*** this up, I’m going to ruin [the movie], I’m no actor.’”
“But what I do when I’m looking [at the movie] with the crowd, I have a lot more to give. I feel I have a lot more.”