Double relaxation: the film that allowed Arnold Schwarzenegger to find his voice

Daniel Beretta, who has just passed away, told how the star chose him in 1987 to become her official voice actor.

Ivan Danko (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a Russian police officer, is sent to Chicago to bring back Rostavili, (Ed O'Ross) the drug dealer responsible for the death of his teammate. The criminal, who fell into the hands of the American police upon his arrival, is awaiting extradition. But, during the transfer, he escapes and Danko must, by force of circumstances, join forces with the local police to find the fugitive.

He teams up with Art Ridzik (James Belushi), a grumpy police officer who knows Chicago like the back of his hand. Despite all their differences, the two men will have to work together to recover the criminal and prevent a huge drug transaction.

The sudden death of Daniel Berettaat 77 years old last weekend, brought out a brilliant anecdote from the actor, famous French voice ofArnold Schwarzenegger. We share it below on the occasion of the rebroadcast of the Austrian-American star's first dubbing: the comedy Double relaxationby Walter Hill, will return at 9:20 p.m. on C8.

In 1994, a handful of years after the release of Red HeatDaniel Beretta told theAFP having been chosen by Arnold Schwarzenegger to become his voice actor on this film, because he had liked his voice when hearing him on the phone. An anecdote that he told again during the promotion ofExpendablesin 2010, and which Millenium Films chose to include in the action film's bonuses.

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In the video extracted from this making-of, we see Daniel Beretta detailing that he was chosen when saying goodbye to one of his actor friends, who was in the company of Jacqueline Porel, an important figure in the world of dubbing. Mother of the photographer Jean-Marie Périer, she had a career in the theater before specializing in dubbing in the 1950s. Lending her voice to Audrey Hepburn, Lana Turner, Kim Novak and Maggie Smith, she became artistic director from the late 1970s. When she was hired to do the dubbing of Double relaxationshe had just finished those of Good Morning Vietnam and Sicilian.

Beretta details that upon hearing his voice, she asked him if he could call her back the next day at a specific time using a Russian accent. He did so and that's how Schwarzie heard it on the phone and exclaimed: “He got the job!” (“He’s got the job!”).

The one who subsequently dubbed him in around thirty films until the end of the 2010s specifies: “He wanted me to double down on everything except political speeches.” This is why certain French interviews with Schwarzie dating from the 1990s and 2000s have the voice of Daniel Beretta. Ditto for the star's cameos in video games, for example.

The trailer for Double relaxationto be seen again this evening on C8:

Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals he paid a coach to erase his Austrian accent