James Cameron Was “Petrified” While Shooting Terminator Because of Arnold Schwarzenegger
James Cameron is undeniably one of the most talented directors in Hollywood. He has often been labeled a ‘perfectionist’ due to his nature of doing things in a certain way until they look perfect. He started his career as a director with 1982’s Piranha II: The Spawning, which did not land well with the critics. This, however, did not deter him from becoming a director.
James Cameron wrote the script for The Terminator and tried to sell it so that he could direct the movie, but major film executives had reservations about working on the movie with an unfamiliar director. Eventually, he managed to get both a producer and a film studio. Being new to the industry, he was quite scared of working with Arnold Schwarzenegger on the movie.
Read More: Arnold Schwarzenegger Believes He Predicted Real Future With Terminator Director James Cameron
James Cameron Was Intimidated About Working with Arnold Schwarzenegger
James Cameron is now a legendary director that every actor wants the chance to work with but there was a time when no one wanted to work with him. Luckily, his colleague and founder of Pacific Western Productions agreed to buy the script of The Terminator for one dollar but only on the condition that Cameron would direct it. The Avatar director convinced Hemdale Pictures to make the film.
Initially, Lance Henriksen, who had previously appeared in Cameron’s Piranha II: The Spawning, was supposed to star as the titular character in The Terminator. However, after meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger, the director decided that the bodybuilder was better suited for the role.
The only problem was that Cameron was intimidated by Schwarzenegger’s star status because he had already achieved global fame as the seven-time winner of the Mr. Olympia title. Not to mention that he had also starred in Conan the Barbarian. James Cameron said how he felt pressured about all this (via IMDb), saying:
“I was petrified at the start of The Terminator (1984). First of all, I was working with a star, at least I thought of him as a star at the time. Arnold came out of it even more a star.”
Schwarzenegger was originally going to play the role of Kyle Reese, but Cameron felt that he was better suited for the role of Terminator. Ultimately, The Terminator turned out to be one of the best movies of all time.
James Cameron’s Reasoning on Why He Chose Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Terminator franchise remains one of the most beloved franchises to date. The movie was a blockbuster despite the initial fear that it would be a box-office failure and would get a negative critical response. The movie earned $78.3 million worldwide and received a mixed critical response, but it certainly established both James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the industry.
During an interview with GQ, the Canadian filmmaker explained why he chose the True Lies actor for the lead role in The Terminator, saying:
“I couldn’t get over how unique [Arnold Schwarzenegger’s] face was, how it almost just projected this kind of raw power. And my conception of the character had been that he was more of an infiltrator. But then my perspective shifted, and I would say that it kind of pivoted on a dime.”
Thankfully, it all worked out in their favor and the movie gained a cult following and is still considered one of the best works of both James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
