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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tom Arnold Loves Fame Hollywood Gets Him

Barry Koltnow The Orange County Register

Nobody loves being famous more than Tom Arnold. And he is the first to admit it.

“I know this sounds sick, but it was a lot of fun being famous back when Roseanne and I were together. I realized at the time that I was only famous because I was married to her, but that’s better than being famous like John Hinckley.

“I really played into the fame back then, and that embarrasses me now. I’m embarrassed by how much I loved it. But frankly, I still love being famous.”

That Arnold - the star of the cinematic remake of the 1960s sitcom “McHale’s Navy,” which opens Friday - still enjoys the fame is evident as he makes his way slowly across the backlot at Universal, where tourists are gawking at the star walking among them.

Many of the tourists simply snap photos from afar, but the more courageous actually approach and request a photo with him. He obliges all requests for photos and autographs and graciously accepts all gushing compliments.

And to the chagrin of the many Tom Arnold detractors, there are plenty of gushing Tom Arnold admirers.

“It’s fun being nice to those people,” Arnold says later over a private lunch feast on a deserted movie set, in which he and an interviewer together devour a mountain of food, including cheeseburgers, turkey dogs, chicken kabobs, submarine sandwiches, Caesar salad and french fries. “It’s fun because I remember what it was like to ask for an autograph from somebody famous. I’m just like those people, and they know that. They know I’m not really part of the Hollywood scene.

“Not that I wouldn’t want to be part of that scene if I could,” he adds with a smile. “I’d be all over that cool thing if I had the chance.”

Despite being pals with Arnold Schwarzenegger, with whom he co-starred in the 1994 hit “True Lies,” despite his current status as a lead actor in films, and despite having made $15 million in the last two years, Arnold isn’t fully accepted in Hollywood.

Part of the reason, of course, is that whole Roseanne period, which turned off many people in Hollywood. He was seen as the opportunist husband who would never even have been invited to the dance if not for his famous wife, from whom he is now divorced.

Then there were those three movies in 1996 - “Big Bully,” “The Stupids” and “Carpool.” Not only were they box-office disasters, grossing less than $10 million combined, but they were really bad movies.

“I had just gone through a divorce and, despite what they said in the media, there was no alimony. I didn’t have much money, and I wanted to buy a house. After the good reviews in ‘True Lies,’ I was flooded with offers to do movies. I never had anyone in this town treat me that good. It was nice being courted by studios. I wasn’t used to that.

“So yes, I did exploit the opportunities. There would be nothing wrong in that. But I made bad decisions. It’s my fault; I can’t blame anyone else.

“Even Arnold let me have it. We were flying down to Mexico to meet with Jim Cameron to discuss doing another ‘True Lies’ and he asked me what the heck I was doing. He told me I belonged in big movies as a supporting actor, not as a lead actor in these bad movies. He’s right. I’ve got to get back to what I do best.

“I think I’ve proven to the world that me as a star in my own movie is still a ways away.”

Arnold, 38, now married to a 23-year-old woman with whom he shares a large estate in the San Fernando Valley, said the only aspect of his life with Roseanne that still rankles him is when critics still do not appreciate his contributions to the show “Roseanne,” on which he was the executive producer.

“I am a really good writer, and I am a really good producer, and I have a pretty good idea of what I did on that show,” he said. “Let’s put it this way: Whatever I was doing on that show was not being done after I left and obviously is not being done now.”

Arnold, who will write, produce and star in a network sitcom this fall (“The Tom Show”), said he will look for quality movie projects in which he supports a big star.

“I feel completely confident that I can add something positive to a situation like that,” he said.

As for “McHale’s Navy,” Arnold is clearly the star, playing Navy Lt. Commander Quinton McHale, the retired naval officer and con artist-businessman who continues to run a profitable business, while conning the Navy, after his retirement. In the film, Tim Curry plays a terrorist and McHale is talked into coming out of retirement to thwart the terrorist’s evil plans.

“I’m not funny in this movie, and I’m not supposed to be,” Arnold said. “I’m the straight man surrounded by funny people. That’s when I’m at my best.

“But even though I’m going back to being a supporting actor, I enjoyed this experience,” he added. “The studio treated me well and took good care of me. Heck, they starred me in a movie that cost $45 million; that shows a lot of appreciation and respect and that was fun for a change.

“I know it’s going to take time for the rest of Hollywood to fully accept me. It’s going to take living my life without controversies and scandals. Just doing my work and staying out of trouble.

“But it can be done. It will take time, and it will still be a battle. But I’m a fighter. I’ll keep fighting until people forget all that other stuff.”