What if Arnold Schwarzenegger had turned down “Terminator”? Thankfully, we’ll never know. Let’s look back at the time when James Cameron almost didn’t cast the beloved Schwarzy in this iconic role.
Last year, James Cameron was the guest of honor at a major exhibition dedicated to his work at the French Cinematheque. During the event, he revisited one of his most legendary films: the timeless sci-fi classic, Terminator, and shared the story of his first meeting with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the man who would portray the titular character.
“Here’s how it really happened,” began James Cameron. “Arnold was recommended to me by one of Terminator’s producers, but for a different role, the one that Michael Biehn (Kyle Reese) eventually played. It was a character with a lot of dialogue, speaking rapidly, with 20 pages of lines. I didn’t know Arnold personally at the time, and he didn’t strike me as the chatty type!”
He continued: “Anyway, I turned to my colleagues and said, ‘Do I owe you money? Because I’m going to have to fight Conan here to tell him he’s not in the movie.’ I went to lunch with Arnold and he was absolutely charming. We became very close friends during the filming, and we still are.”
A “Distinctive” Face that Changed Everything
Continuing his tale, James Cameron explained how it was ultimately Arnold’s face, which he couldn’t stop staring at, that fascinated him and convinced him that Arnold was perfect for the role of the Terminator.
“During that lunch, everything Arnold expressed interest in about the film was related to the Terminator character. He loved the script, he loved what we were planning. And as we talked, I just kept looking at his face. It was so distinctive, so undeniably real, there was a kind of brutality to it. That was the moment I knew he could be the Terminator.”
The rest is history. Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to portray the character that turned him into a legend of the film and pop culture world, first under the direction of James Cameron for Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991, and then in several more installments of the series.
But let’s go back to the beginning, Terminator (1984) is available to watch on VOD.
Also, discover the bloopers and errors in the Terminator series:
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A passionate journalist, Iris Lennox covers social and cultural news across the U.S.