James Cameron went through an unusual decision-making process to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, but it ultimately made the actor perfect for the title role. Schwarzenegger established himself as one of the biggest action heroes of the '80s and '90s, with his portrayal of various Terminators in the Terminator franchise being his most iconic role. Beginning as a villain in 1984's The Terminator, Schwarzenegger subsequently became a hero in the movie's record-breaking 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
In the original Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 is sent to 1984 from a future ravaged by a war between man and machines. His mission is to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before she can give birth to John Connor, who will grow up to become the leader of the human resistance. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) a soldier from the same future, is sent back to protect Sarah. While The Terminator became a surprise hit in 1984, Cameron's initial casting ideas were a bit different.
Why James Cameron Didn't Want Arnold Schwarzenegger To Play Reese
As revealed in the documentary Creating the Terminator, Orion Pictures initially wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger to play Kyle Reese, as he was hot off the success of Conan the Barbarian. James Cameron hated the idea. Per the documentary, Cameron decided "to pick a fight with Arnold because the only way I could get him out of the movie was to not get along with him." Fortunately, Schwarzenegger had his own qualms about the role of Kyle Reese.
After reading the script for The Terminator, Schwarzenegger was more interested in playing the title character. After telling this to Cameron at their lunch meeting, "Jim went from just about ready to pick a fight with him to, 'That's a good idea!' This did also necessitate some casting changes for Cameron's initial choice for the Terminator of Lance Henriksen, who was recast as the LAPD officer Vukovich. In the end, the change ended up being for the best.
Why Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Way Better As The Terminator
While James Cameron envisioned Lance Henriksen's Terminator as being able to easily blend in among humans, Arnold Schwarzenegger's confidence in approaching the director for the role shows how well-suited he was for it. As embodied by Schwarzenegger, the Terminator became a terrifying killer, which the actor had no difficulty conveying. Producer Gale Anne Hurd also felt that Schwarzenegger's bodybuilder physique sold him as a convincing villain even before he was revealed as a machine and that it was "enough to convince people that he was lethal."
Even once Schwarzenegger made a heroic turn in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, his convincing portrayal of machine-like speech patterns and movements proved he was the right choice for the role. Meanwhile, Michael Biehn's portrayal of Kyle Reese wound up bringing a kind of youthful humanity to the character that showed he was the ideal choice for the heroic soldier. In the end, Schwarzenegger playing The Terminator's cybernetic villain fit him far better than the Kyle Reese role ever would have. Additionally, Henriksen landed his own iconic android role just two years later, as Bishop in James Cameron's Aliens, which he excelled at as much as Schwarzenegger did as the Terminator.