“Listen and understand. That terminator is out there. It can’t be bargained with, it can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead.”
O.J. Simpson was considered for the Terminator role, but producers feared he was “too nice” to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer. Mel Gibson turned down the role. Both Jürgen Prochnow and Lance Henriksen were considered and writer/director James Cameron even made sketches showing The Terminator looking like Henriksen. The original concept was for the character to be able to blend into a crowd. At first Cameron wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the role of Kyle Reese, but after meeting, both Schwarzenegger and Cameron agreed he should play the lead, so Henriksen was cast as Det. Vukovich. Interestingly, Henriksen later got to play Bishop, the humanoid cyborg in Aliens (1986), also directed by Cameron. Linda Hamilton beat Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rosanna Arquette for the role of Sarah Connor. Hamilton and Cameron later got married (and subsequently divorced). Edward James Olmos and Louis Gossett Jr. were considered for the role of Lt. Traxler. Production was postponed nine months due to Schwarzenegger’s commitment to shoot Conan the Destroyer (1984). During this time, Cameron took on a screenwriting assignment which became Aliens (1986). Science fiction author Harlan Ellison sued James Cameron, claiming this film plagiarized two episodes he wrote for The Outer Limits (1963). Also the concept of Skynet was taken from an Ellison short story. The suit was settled out of court and newer prints of the film credit him. The first draft was sold to Cameron’s ex-wife, producer Gale Anne Hurd for one dollar.
