James Cameron Enlisted A Legendary Alien Star To Help Him Pitch The Terminator To Investors

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

This story has been documented in several places, including in the book "The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron" by Rebecca Keegan, but it seems that James Cameron, while shooting his first feature, "Piranha II: The Spawning," in Rome, got very sick. While racked by illness, he had a horrifying dream about a robot, sans legs and holding several knives, menacingly pulling itself along the ground away from a fiery explosion. This image provided the germ for the screenplay that would eventually become "The Terminator," Cameron's 1984 movie about an evil robot from the future.

Cameron eventually refined his script into something more myth-heavy. In "The Terminator," a human-skin-covered robot (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to assassinate a beleaguered waitress named Sarah (Linda Hamilton), as she is destined to give birth to a human resistance leader. It seems that, in the future, intelligent robots have risen up and laid waste to the Earth. The human survivors fought back and were standing on the brink of success thanks to the efforts of Sarah's adult son, John. The robots then used their time machine as a last-ditch effort to assassinate John before he could be born. Recapping the film's plot may seem a little churlish, of course, as "The Terminator" was a major box office success and has entrenched itself deeply into the pop consciousness.

Schwarzenegger was good casting for the titular role, as the Austrian bodybuilder-turned-actor could be stoic, cold, and imposing. He was a good, scary killing machine. For a moment, though, Cameron considered eventual "Alien" franchise star Lance Henriksen for the part and even recruited Henriksen to play the Terminator in-person, during the film's pitch meeting to a financier, as is also recounted in "The Futurist."

We've all seen Arnold Schwarzenegger play the eponymous killing machine in "The Terminator," so Lance Henriksen may seem like an odd choice in comparison. Perhaps James Cameron felt that Henriksen would have made a good human-skin-covered robot, as he is an ordinary man who could blend into a crowd, making him that much more terrifying. By selecting Schwarzenegger, Cameron turned the Terminator into a giant, unstoppable monster, which, many might argue, was to the film's benefit.

Henriksen had previously worked with Cameron on "Piranha II," so they were already friends. He even wound up with a small role in "The Terminator," playing a police detective. Cameron and Henriksen would later go on to collaborate again on Cameron's 1986 film "Aliens," while Henriksen would appear in both the direct sequel, "Alien^3," and the eventual "Alien vs. Predator" spin-off movie.

The amusing part of this story, though, is that Cameron wanted to pitch "The Terminator" to a man named John Daly at the Helmdale Film Corporation. Cameron then dressed Henricksen in cyborg regalia and asked him to arrive at Daly's office early, acting in character. Henriksen sported a ripped-up t-shirt, a leather jacket, and big, stompy, knee-high boots. Cameron, thinking quickly, grabbed a piece of gold foil out of a package of Vantage-brand cigarettes and had Henriksten stick it to his teeth as well.

From there, Henriksen burst into Daly's office, startling Daly's receptionist. He sat and waited for 15 minutes, staring at the wall, behaving as robotically as he could. Everyone was scared of him. When Cameron finally arrived, Daly understood: Henriksen was the scary robot from the film that Cameron wanted to pitch. The pitch meeting worked, and Daly agreed to financially back the movie.

As mentioned, Lance Henriksen didn't get the lead role in "The Terminator," but thanks to James Cameron's little office stunt, he was technically the first actor to play the part. Henriksen didn't work with Cameron again after "Aliens," but his association with that movie led to his involvement in the above-mentioned "Alien" projects, including multiple "Alien" video games. He also became a horror icon in his own right and has tons of acting credits. As for his role as a cop in "The Terminator," that was likely a thank-you gift from Cameron, who was grateful to Henriksen for being instrumental in getting the film funded.

Meanwhile, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cameron made even more giant blockbusters together in the forms of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" in 1991 and the budget-breaking action/comedy "True Lies" in 1994. Indeed, Cameron has worked with the same actors over and over throughout his career behind the camera, with the likes of Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, and Jenette Goldstein appearing in several of his movies. That's to mention nothing of the numerous performers that Cameron has directed in all of his "Avatar" films so far.

As for "Terminator," that franchise has continued since "Terminator 2," albeit to diminishing returns. As of this writing, there are six "Terminator" movies and two shows, along with various tie-in comic books and video games. One could picture a parallel universe wherein Lance Henriksen serves as the face of the property instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger. It definitely would have been different, that much we can say for certain.