WI Arnie not cast as the Terminator

The Professor · Dec 2, 2009

I've been reading Blockbuster by Tom Shone and an interesting bit jumped out at me.
Arnold's agent put him up for the role of Kyle Reese and Cameron met with him in order to politely dissuade him as he'd already cast the other guy. However their meeting was mainly about Arnie enthusing over the Terminator role and JCameron rewrote the part to better suit him.

So what if Arnold Schwarzeneggar was never up for the role (by whatever means). Who would be cast as the Terminator?

BlackWave · Dec 2, 2009

Stallone?

"Hashta la vishta, behhhhby."

The Professor · Dec 2, 2009

BlackWave said:
Stallone?

"Hashta la vishta, behhhhby."

Dear gods no!
I should probably point out that a large muscly man was not the original depiction of the Terminator in the script but that Arnie carried it off well

Onkel Willie · Dec 2, 2009

Dolph Lundgren as terminator

The Professor · Dec 2, 2009

Maybe Jean-Claude Van Damme as he is not overly large and was an unknown in film at the time. Tho who'd play the Timecop?

Joseph K. · Dec 2, 2009

Originally, the Terminator was supposed to be a very normal looking guy who would blend in, so it wouldn't be a traditional action hero like Stallone or Dolph.

xt828 · Dec 2, 2009

Lance Henrikson was the original option for the Terminator, iirc. He got the police officer role instead as a sort of compensation. I'm fairly sure there's a mock-up poster of Henrikson as Terminator floating around.

Fenwick · Dec 2, 2009

Yeah the shrink was to be the killer robot.

RCAF Brat · Dec 2, 2009

Lance Henrikson. the guy was sure that he was going to get it. And he had a different interpretation of the role too. Had the machine be more of an ambush hunter, like a praying mantis. He'd blend right into the crowd, and then when you got too close, boom, he'd pop out and get you.

Tyr · Dec 2, 2009

Joseph K. said:
Originally, the Terminator was supposed to be a very normal looking guy who would blend in, so it wouldn't be a traditional action hero like Stallone or Dolph.

Yep, and then Reece was supposed to be the bug muscly super strong type.

Sovereign12 · Dec 2, 2009

Saw an interview with Cameron recently in which he said he was thinking of casting OJ Simpson, but felt he was too nice of a guy for the role. Go figure?

Polish Eagle · Dec 2, 2009

Tyr said:
Yep, and then Reece was supposed to be the bug muscly super strong type.

They went back to the concept of muscular hero and average villain for T2.

As for Arnie not being the Terminator...

He definately wouldn't be as well known. Perhaps his governance of California is butterflied. As for the Franchise, it was intended to be low budget, almost a B-movie. Maybe there will never be a sequel. And consider that the line "I'll be back" was Arnold improvising. That will also not happen ITTL.

Emperor Norton I · Dec 2, 2009

BlackWave said:
Stallone?

"Hashta la vishta, behhhhby."

DaSla · Dec 2, 2009

Emperor Norton I said:

It's his best role

The Professor · Dec 3, 2009

DarkSlavik said:
It's his best role

I concur! Tho Demolition Man might just pip it!

wilcoxchar · Dec 3, 2009

The Professor said:
Maybe Jean-Claude Van Damme as he is not overly large and was an unknown in film at the time. Tho who'd play the Timecop?

Arnie perhaps?

MacCaulay · Dec 4, 2009

The Professor said:
Arnold's agent put him up for the role of Kyle Reese and Cameron met with him in order to politely dissuade him as he'd already cast the other guy.

The other guy? The other guy? That other guy you refer to is none other than the amazing, immortal, AMAZING Michael Biehn who would go on to play Lt. Coffey in The Abyss, Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in Aliens, the SEAL commander in The Rock AND Navy SEALs, and Johnny Ringo in Tombstone!

I think the scarier question here is: what the hell would James Cameron's stock troupe have been like if Arnold had been cast as Kyle Reese?

Fenrir_Angerboda · Dec 4, 2009

Sovereign12 said:
Saw an interview with Cameron recently in which he said he was thinking of casting OJ Simpson, but felt he was too nice of a guy for the role. Go figure?

Ah, I remeber that. it was a different article though.

xt828 · Dec 4, 2009

I totally forgot he was in The Rock until you mentioned it. Still, he never really seemed to strike it big, while Ahnold had a pretty strong career, appalling attempts at comedy notwithstanding.

Arnie as Kyle Reese and Henrikson as the Terminator would put a totally different spin on the whole series, though. The Terminators are much less obvious, and much less about brute strength, while the Resistance is much more about brute strength and less about being all sneaky and shit. If the script is unchanged, I can't see it doing anywhere near as well with Arnold in the Reese role. Terminator without Arnold would, I think, be a one-shot rather than a series - I don't think that Biehn or Henrikson have the charisma and sheer on-screen presence to generate a following.

robertp6165 · Dec 4, 2009

Sovereign12 said:
Saw an interview with Cameron recently in which he said he was thinking of casting OJ Simpson, but felt he was too nice of a guy for the role. Go figure?

Yes. His exact words were he didn't think "such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer." Gotta love the irony.

Cameron originally envisaged the role as being for a small, unremarkable man, giving the terminator the ability to blend in more easily with human populations. His first choice for the role was Lance Henriksen (who in OTL played one of the police detectives who questioned Sarah Connor before Arnie shot up the police station). So if Arnie doesn't get it, it's probably Lance. And we have a VERY different Terminator.