Believe it or not, The Terminator almost wasn’t Arnie! Despite the perfect fit, Arnold Schwarzenegger balked at the silent villain role. But James Cameron, the filmmaking terminator, swooped in with a winning sales pitch. He promised to film Arnie in a way that’d make audiences totally excuse the evil—because, hey, a cool machine is a cool machine!
This magic bullet convinced Schwarzenegger, and the rest is history. One iconic line (“Hasta la vista, baby!”) and a genre-bending film later, we can all be thankful for Cameron’s persuasive powers.
How James Cameron Convinced Arnold Schwarzenegger to Become the Villain in The Terminator
“He’d shoot it in such a way that…” — those were the magic words that convinced Arnold Schwarzenegger to take on the role of a lifetime. The Terminator. A cyborg assassin sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (actress Linda Hamilton), the woman whose son would one day save humanity. Seems like a slam dunk for the then-rising action star, right? Wrong.
Schwarzenegger was having none of it. Playing a near-silent villain with questionable morals? Not exactly the career-boosting hero role he was aiming for. In a 2014 oral history of the first film (via Entertainment Weekly), Schwarzenegger explained why he didn’t want to take up the role:
No, no, no—look, the guy has 17 lines. I was building my career, being a leading man and not being a villain.
Director James Cameron, however, saw something Schwarzenegger didn’t—the potential for an iconic villain. His secret weapon? Charisma! He promised Schwarzenegger that despite the character’s lack of a heartbeat, he’d film him in a way that would make audiences overlook the evil.
Cameron changed the actor’s mind by assuring him that, even as a villain, the audience would love and root for this character. Schwarzenegger later explained,
Cameron said that he’d shoot it in such a way that all the evil stuff that I do will be totally excused by audiences because I’m a cool machine. And so cool that some of the people will cheer.
Without a shadow’s doubt, Cameron did exactly what he promised and Schwarzenegger took on the role despite not wanting to initially. The Terminator’s stoicism and efficiency, coupled with Schwarzenegger’s imposing physique, created a villain who was equal parts terrifying and strangely…admirable, drastically changing the entire movie.
This unexpected likeability factor exploded in the sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Here, the Terminator transformed from relentless hunter to reluctant protector, his interactions with a young John Connor leading to hilarious misunderstandings about human quirks and slang. (“Hasta la vista, baby!” anyone?) Even without emotions, Schwarzenegger managed to convey a sense of loyalty and, dare we say, affection for the boy he was sworn to defend.
Schwarzenegger wasn’t the first choice for The Terminator
Believe it or not, Arnold Schwarzenegger almost wasn’t the Terminator! According to the actor himself, director James Cameron originally eyed ex-football star OJ Simpson for the cyborg assassin role. Um, can you imagine? In an interview with Independent.co, Schwarzenegger revealed,
It was actually OJ Simpson that was the first cast Terminator. Then somehow [James Cameron] felt that he was not as believable as a killing machine. So then they hired me. That’s really what happened.
Hold on to your sunglasses, though, because there’s a plot twist. James Cameron quickly denied this, saying OJ was never in the mix and “was rejected out of hand before it ever got any traction.” Apparently, Arnold got his wires crossed (or maybe it was a case of mistaken identity?)
So why Arnold, then? Cameron saw the Terminator as a relentless killing machine, and let’s face it, Schwarzenegger’s imposing physique definitely fit the bill. Plus, his acting chops (remember those iconic lines?) sealed the deal.
Watch The Terminator on Amazon Prime.
