True Lies OG Tom Arnold Tees Up His Guest Stint, Which Includes a Movie Payoff Nearly 30 Years in the Making

2023-04-25

What kind of a sick bitch takes the ice-cube trays out of the freezer? True Lies viewers are about to find out.

This Wednesday’s episode of the CBS dramedy (10/9c) features the long-heralded appearance of guest star Tom Arnold, who played Gib (and uttered the line above) in the 1994 movie on which the show is based.

But the show already has Omar Benson Miller in the role of Albert “Gib” Gibson, who provides tech support — and comedic relief — to Omega Sector personnel while they’re on missions. So when Arnold shows up during the hour, he does so as Arnie, a retired Omega operative who’s very reminiscent of the character he played opposite Arnold Schwarzengger’s Harry.

“There’s a couple of lines that I say that are from the movie that now pay off,” Arnold excitedly tells TVLine, referencing the ice-cube jab. “I was going through a [real-life] divorce at the time, and I said that in the trailer, getting make-up. And [director] Jim Cameron was like, ‘Say that on screen. Talk about your wife in this next scene.’ And people remember that.”

In the show, Arnie is experiencing similar romantic discord, courtesy of Sharon — another retired Omega operative, played by Battlestar Galactica‘s Kate Vernon — his onetime love/co-worker. So, for all intents and purposes, “Now that [line] pays off, because that woman is still in my life and still wants to kill me,” he says, laughing.

Harry and Helen will get a bracing look at what can happen to a couple that spies together as they work with Arnie and Sharon to “locate a mystery assassin who murdered members of their former team,” the official synopsis reads.

Arnold, whose TV credits also include Roseanne, NCIS: New Orleans, Psych and Sons of Anarchy, is pumped to be in the episode. Below, a sampling of his thoughts about shooting the hour, starting with…

A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ARNIE | “My character from the movie, where would he be in 29 years? And this is it. He’s been out. He’s one of those guys that lives out on a farm and away from people, probably believes in some conspiracies. Things like that… The only reason he comes out of his hiding is because Harry and Helen come to get him because they want him to know ‘Somebody is killing everyone on your team, so you are probably next.’ And so that gets me to go, ‘OK, I’ll help you. I hate Omega Sector, it was bad, but I’ll help you.’”

AND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ARNIE’S EX | “One of the other members of the team is Sharon, who’s my ex but [we’re] still very emotionally attached to each other, and not in the healthiest way. Then she has to come out, too, and then we work with these young people… My guy is pretty crazy, as you would be if you did that job for a living for 30 years.”

PLAYING OPPOSITE SCHWARZENEGGER’S HARRY VS. STEVE HOWEY’S HARRY | “Steve Howey is not trying to be Arnold. Ginger [Gonzaga, who plays Helen] is not trying to be Jamie Lee [Curtis, who played the character in the movie]. They have so much respect for them the do something different. Also, the two of them — much like Jamie Lee and Arnold — have a ton of respect for each other and enjoy each other. You notice that when you’re on your down time. That Ginger, she’s a firecracker, man. And Steve’s this big guy. He’s actually bigger than Arnold was. And the two of them together, they’ll also talk about anything. I just felt very comfortable with the whole group. I mean, they work very, very hard on the set. They shoot in seven days what the movie would take us three months to do.”

WILL WE SEE ARNIE AGAIN? | “I will be back. Yes, I will. I’m like Arnold. [Laughs] I’m sure I will. You’re never sure of anything, but I just want these guys to have as much success as possible.”

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True Lies OG Tom Arnold Tees Up His Guest Stint, Which Includes a Movie Payoff Nearly 30 Years in the Making

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