Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger are two guys with massive biceps, and those muscles were even bigger in the 1980s when they co-starred together in 1987’s Predator (which you can watch with a Hulu subscription). It seems only natural that two beasts would be more than a little competitive at the time.
It seems Schwarzenegger was cheeky enough to take advantage of the wrestler-turned-actor’s competitiveness and played a prank on him, convincing Ventura (briefly) that his arms were bigger than the former champion bodybuilder’s arms. It ultimately cost Ventura a bottle of champagne (and maybe some wounded pride).
Schwarzenegger Set The Prank Up With The Wardrobe Department
It seems the future California governor had an inkling that the outspoken future Minnesota governor would check the costume sizes when he was getting fitted. And, indeed he did. In an interview around the time of the movie release nearly 40 years ago, Ventura said:
The biggest thrill for me was when we hit wardrobe, and I happened to view Arnold's wardrobe tape, and when my arms taped out one inch bigger than Mr. Olympia's, that made Jesse Ventura feel pretty good.
And yeah, he did refer to himself in the third person, as any truly great wrestler would. So, the trap had been laid, to which Schwarzenegger said:
I'm very happy about that, because then my joke worked. Because I told the wardrobe department, they should tell him that, so I can bet him about champagne after this when he comes to the gym.
It seems everything Schwarzenegger planned was working. Next came the gym.
Can You Imagine The Gym On The Set Of Predator?
The Predator cast included Ventura, Schwarzenegger, and Carl Weathers. That’s some serious muscle, and a lot of testosterone. Boys being boys, Schwarzenegger was counting on the fact that Ventura would brag about the difference in arm sizes, and he was ready to make a bet, in Schwarzenegger’s words:
He came to the gym two days later and said, ‘You know something, Arnold? We should measure our arms, [and see] who has bigger arms.’ I said, ‘Of course, we should, and let’s bet a bottle of champagne.’
The trap was laid, and all that was left was the tale of the tape. Schwarzenegger explained:
Then we measured it, and my arm was three inches bigger than his. He lost a bottle of champagne. I mean, you know, the psych-out trips, they work on everybody, bodybuilders, and those are wrestlers. It's good.
The two didn’t reveal how nice of a bottle of champagne Ventura paid the bet with, but seeing as the movie was a massive box office hit in the summer of ‘87 (and launched a long-running franchise with the latest installment, Predator: Badlands, crushing it on 2025 movie schedule), it’s another safe bet to assume it wasn’t a cheap bottle.
