Arguably, the Terminator franchise should’ve ended with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, one of the greatest sequels ever made, as it raised the stakes from the first one and provided a definitive, satisfying conclusion to the story. But there are a few things to enjoy in the later Terminator sequels. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines introduced the franchise’s first female Terminator, the T-X, played by Kristanna Loken.
Before Loken was cast in the role, a lot of different actors were considered. During the writing of the script, the character’s gender switched around a lot, so the role could’ve been played by anyone.
Chyna
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s top choice for the role of T-X was Chyna, a wrestler who rose to fame in the late ‘90s and was dubbed the “Ninth Wonder of the World” by WWE, since André the Giant had already been named as the eight.
However, when it became clear that Chyna wouldn’t be able to make the shoot, the script was blown wide open and the characterization became a lot more flexible as producers considered both men and women for the role.
Vin Diesel
After Chyna was ruled out of the casting for the T-X, the producers decided that the character didn’t necessarily need to be female and opened up the casting search to both men and women.
One of the men that the producers considered was Vin Diesel, who had yet to become one of the biggest movie stars in the world with the latter-day Fast & Furious movies.
Gwyneth Paltrow
When the Terminator 3 producers first considered the possibility of a female Terminator, one of the first names that came up was Gwyneth Paltrow, who was still hot off her Best Actress win for Shakespeare in Love. Paltrow did eventually appear in a big-budget sci-fi action franchise when she was cast as Pepper Potts in Iron Man, the movie that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Paltrow is currently semi-retired from acting, and recently detailed how her experiences working under the toxic regime of Harvey Weinstein caused her to fall out of love with the craft.
Peta Wilson
In searching for a female actor to play the T-X who could handle the physicality of an action-oriented role, the producers of Terminator 3 considered Peta Wilson for the part.
Wilson got her start as a model, but her best-known acting work is starring in five seasons of the action series La Femme Nikita, adapted from Luc Besson’s movie of the same name (not to be confused with the later Maggie Q-starring TV adaptation, which shortened the title to Nikita).
Lucia Rijker
With impressive careers in both boxing and kickboxing, Lucia Rijker has been described as “The Most Dangerous Woman in the World” by the press. So, it’s hardly a surprise that the producers of Terminator 3 considered her for the role of an unstoppable killing machine.
The threequel went into development around the same time that Rijker stepped away from fighting and decided to pursue an acting career. Ultimately, this led to minor roles in Million Dollar Baby, Rollerball, The L Word, and Star Trek.
Carrie-Anne Moss
It should hardly be surprising to fans of The Matrix trilogy that Carrie-Anne Moss was under consideration for the role of the T-X in Terminator 3. The role of Trinity in the Wachowskis’ cyberpunk-inspired action franchise made Moss one of the leading badasses in all of science fiction.
She later went on to play another high-profile blockbuster role, Jeri Hogarth, in the underrated Marvel series on Netflix, particularly Jessica Jones.
Jeri Ryan
Jeri Ryan is already an icon among the sci-fi community for playing one robot – Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager, a role she recently reprised in the Picard-centric spin-off – but she could’ve played another one.
Ryan was considered for the role of the T-X in Terminator 3. Funnily enough, the new incarnation of Seven of Nine on Picard has been compared to a Terminator.
Shaquille O’Neal
Yes, the producers of Terminator 3 actually considered Shaquille O’Neal for the role of the T-X. He wasn’t the first athlete to be considered to play a Terminator; Arnie himself is a professional-grade bodybuilder and the original choice for his T-800 role was O.J. Simpson. Shaq may be one of the greatest basketball players who ever lived, but his acting is hardly of the same stature. Just look at Kazaam or Steel.
Still, the role of an emotionless killer cyborg might’ve been within Shaq’s acting range – and it would’ve been a delight to see him fight Arnold Schwarzenegger on the big screen.
Famke Janssen
Once the producers behind the Terminator franchise decided definitively that the main antagonist in the third movie would be a woman, it was reported that their top choice for the role was Famke Janssen.
However, the role eventually went to Kristanna Loken. Janssen is no stranger to action movies, having appeared in the X-Men franchise, the Taken franchise, and GoldenEye.