While Schwarzenegger starred in the role for four of the five movies in the series, including The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and Terminator Genisys (2015), most fans see the first two films as the high points of the franchise. Side note: A CGI version of Schwarzenegger’s face was used in Terminator: Salvation (2009) while he was the governor of California.
Whatever you think of those later movies, though, The Terminator is rightly hailed as a landmark achievement of independent film, science-fiction storytelling, and practical special effects. Terminator 2: Judgment Day continued that trend, using groundbreaking visual effects and strong storytelling to create what many in the film community feel is one of the best sequels of all time, on par with films like Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II (1974) and James Cameron’s Aliens (1986).
On the heels of our dossier of badass Predator facts (notice a trend?), here are 15 amazing facts about Arnold, The Terminator, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
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Big-budget blockbusters were born from ‘Terminator 2’
Because of its visual effects and action scenes, Terminator 2 had a budget of $102 million—the most expensive movie ever made in Hollywood at that point, according to Variety.
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Arnold bulked up to play the Terminator
Arnold had to get himself in pretty great shape multiple times to play the T-800. It wasn’t too much of a stretch, thanks to his bodybuilding career. Here’s a look at some of Arnold’s workouts, shedding some light on how he got jacked to play the Terminator:
Arnold really doesn’t say much in ‘The Terminator’
For as big of a role and screen presence that Arnold has in the first Terminator, he really didn’t have much to memorize from the script. The Terminator character only had 17 lines in the film—it totaled around 100 words, which was all it took to make Arnold a worldwide superstar, according to Entertainment Weekly.
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The motorcycle chase from ‘Terminator 2’ is a ‘Hall of Fame’ stunt
Director James Cameron gave stunt coordinator Joel Kramer six weeks to figure out how to pull off the scene, which featured Arnold’s Terminator riding a motorcycle through a Los Angeles water canal while blasting off a shotgun, Robert Patrick’s T-1000 driving a huge truck, and a real 780-lb Harley-Davidson, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Stunt rider Peter Kent got thrown around while working on the scene, but it was worth it: “It was a nice moment. My motorcycle work and the bike jump put me in the Hollywood Stuntman’s Hall of Fame, and is rated by CNN as one of the top 10 stunts of all time. That’s something that no one can ever take away from you,” Kent said, according to Uproxx.
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“Terminator” terminated the box office
Shot for around $6 million in 1984, The Terminator was a huge box office success, making $78.3 million in theaters and launching a multi-billion dollar franchise.
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Billy Idol almost played the villain in ‘Terminator 2’
Robert Patrick’s villainous T-1000 from Terminator 2 is one of the most iconic villains of all time, but the character was almost played by a very different actor. Rock star Billy Idol was the original pick for the villain, according to Terminator stunt coordinator Joel Kramer, who spoke to MTV News about the film.
“But Billy had gotten into a motorcycle accident and broke his leg, so it didn’t work out, because he would have to be in lean running shape,” Kramer said.
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‘Terminator 2’ was the king of 1991 films
Even though Judgment Day (at the time) cost more to make than any other movie in film history, it made it back in spades. Terminator 2 was the highest-grossing film of 1991 with $519 million worldwide, beating Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Beauty and the Beast, and Hook, which all made over $300 million. Since Terminator made $38 million at the box office in 1984, the 434% increase in box office revenue for Terminator 2 is a record, according to Box Office Mojo.
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That big-ass gun from ‘Predator’ made it into ‘Terminator 2’
Since James Cameron was an unknown filmmaker back when he was trying to get The Terminator made in the early ‘80s, everyone had their own opinions on who should play the main characters.
Producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead) told Deadline in 2014 that Orion Pictures head Mike Medavoy wanted O.J. Simpson as the T-800 Terminator, with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing Kyle Reese. “I think I was on my knees retching,” Cameron said about the possibility.
Clearly Cameron got what he wanted: Schwarzenegger as the Terminator and Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese. Biehn went on to become a Cameron favorite, appearing as Hicks in another legendary Cameron sequel, Aliens.
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‘Terminator 2’ is an Oscar-winning film
“One of the best action movies of all time” doesn’t usually go hand-in-hand with “Academy Award-winning film,” but then again Terminator 2 is a standout.
Among the accolades the sequel received were four Oscar wins, including Best Visual Effects (for Stan Winston, pictured left), Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup, and Best Sound Editing.
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Arnold helped launch a multi-billion ‘Terminator’ franchise
The Terminator series, including The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,Terminator: Salvation, and Terminator Genisys, has grossed over $3 billion in revenue as of 2017. Terminator 2 is the highest-grossing of the series, having made $204 million in North America and over $500 million worldwide.
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The original ‘Terminator 2’ ending was a happy one
Instead of the explosive finish in Terminator 2, the movie’s original ending was a bit more upbeat. In a deleted scene later released, an epilogue showed an older version of Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in the future playing with her granddaughter.
“There was no judgment day,” Connor says. “People went to work, as they always do, laughed, complained, watched TV, made love. I wanted to run through the street yelling, ‘Every day from this day on is a gift. Use it well.’ Instead, I got drunk.”
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Major stars almost played the Terminator over Arnold
It might seem crazy that Arnold Schwarzenegger almost wasn’t cast in the main role of the Terminator considering how iconic it is now, but back then he didn’t have as much star power. But two men who did included Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson—who were offered the part, but turned it down, according to Complex.
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GABRIEL BOUYS
James Cameron bet on himself to make ‘Terminator’
James Cameron wanted to make sure he got the chance to direct the original Terminator his way, so he sold the rights to producer Gale Anne Hurd for $1—but under the condition that he would be in the director’s chair. Cameron told the story to the Toronto Sun in 2009.
“I wish I hadn’t sold the rights for one dollar,” Cameron told the Toronto Sun. “If I had a little time machine and I could only send back something the length of a tweet, it’d be—‘Don’t sell.’ ”
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Arnold almost was cast in a different part for ‘The Terminator’
Although Cameron eventually got his man, another actor almost stepped into the role as the T-800: Lance Henriksen, according to Terminatorstunt coordinator Joel Kramer.
Kramer spoke with MTV Newsand said: “They were thinking of Lance Henriksen for the Terminator, and they wanted Arnold for the Michael Biehn part of Kyle Reese.”
Cameron later cast Henriksen as Hal Vukovich in Terminator, a police sergeant who questions Sarah Connor, and then as Bishop in Aliens, along with Michael Biehn as Hicks.
