Arnold Schwarzenegger 'farted in my face', colleague says. Photo / Getty Images
Arnold Schwarzenegger 'farted in my face', colleague says. Photo / Getty Images
Miriam Margolyes is not a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The British veteran movie and TV star – who appeared in the Harry Potter franchise as Professor Sprout – has lifted the lid on her least favourite former co-star to news.com.au's podcast, I've Got News For You.
"Schwarzenegger, didn't care for him … he's a bit too full of himself," Margolyes, 81, told host Andrew Bucklow.
"He was actually quite rude. He farted in my face. Now, I fart, of course I do – but I don't fart in people's faces. He did it deliberately, right in my face."
The actress went on to allege that the foul incident occurred when they appeared opposite each other in 1999 action horror film, End of Days, which was filmed in Los Angeles.
"I was playing Satan's sister and (his character) was killing me, so he had me in a position where I couldn't escape, lying on the floor. And he just farted," Margolyes said.
"It wasn't on film, it was in one of the pauses, but I haven't forgiven him for it."
The smelly accusation comes ahead of the premiere of her new show for the ABC, Miriam Margolyes: Australia Unmasked, which sees the star back on the road, travelling west along the bottom of the country.
During her eight-week trip around the southern parts of Australia, Margolyes tries to determine if everyday Aussies feel like they're getting "a fair go".
She described the production as "huge fun", but added that filming the three-part series left her "f**king exhausted".
The BAFTA-winning actress became a citizen in 2013 after years of dividing her time between London and Australia.
Miriam Margolyes and Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in a movie together. Photo / News.com.au
She now lives in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales with her longtime partner, Heather Sutherland, a retired Australian professor of Indonesian Studies. The two have been together since 1968.
Margolyes faced backlash following the release of her ABC documentary Almost Australian back in 2020, after describing her adopted country as "brutal" and "greedy" during a promotional interview at the time.
She said the filming process left her feeling disenchanted with Australia – in particular, popular tourism destination Surfer's Paradise.
"There is a brutality there and a greed in Australia, which I don't like," she told TV Tonight of her visit to the highly developed Queensland stretch of coastline.
"You know, the developers. Those horrible structures along the coast, that people should be ashamed of living in Surfers Paradise, it's disgusting. I think that actually shocked me because I don't go there. It's not my world and I don't want to go there."
" … We think we know what (Australia is) like, but we don't. It's quite complicated. It's layered. Lots of things happen. I do think I was right that it's harsher than it was. Maybe that's true in the world."
Her new series, Miriam Margolyes' Australia Unmasked, premieres tomorrow night (July 19) at 8.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
