{"id":2085,"date":"2026-10-17T16:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T09:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chuyenhay360.com.vn\/?p=2085"},"modified":"2026-10-17T16:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T09:47:08","slug":"oj-simpson-was-almost-the-terminator-and-cameron-wanted-arnold-as-the-good-guy-3dvf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chuyenhay360.com.vn\/?p=2085","title":{"rendered":"OJ Simpson was almost the Terminator, and Cameron wanted Arnold as the good guy – 3DVF"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Producer Mike Medavoy once pitched James Cameron a reversed casting for The Terminator: O.J. Simpson as the killing machine, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the human hero. Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd rejected the idea instantly, reasoning Simpson was too likeable to play a remorseless assassin, and Schwarzenegger was steered instead toward the villain role after a lunch where he couldn’t stop talking about it.<\/p>\n

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Picture the pitch meeting that almost rewrote cinema history: a producer tells James Cameron he wants O.J. Simpson to play a merciless killing machine, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the hero. Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd reportedly stared at each other in disbelief before shutting the idea down cold, judging Simpson far too likeable for the role. Schwarzenegger himself had been eyed for Kyle Reese, the human soldier, until a lunch with Cameron turned into an impromptu pitch for the villain\u2019s part instead. The rest ended up on screen in 1984, with Schwarzenegger as the T-800 and Michael Biehn as Reese, though Cameron has since pushed back on calling Simpson\u2019s brush with the role an actual casting.<\/p>\n

The pitch that made James Cameron do a double take<\/h2>\n

Before The Terminator<\/strong> hit theaters in 1984<\/strong>, producer Mike Medavoy came to James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd with a casting idea that has since entered Hollywood lore. \u201cAre you sitting down? You must sit down. I want O.J. Simpson for the Terminator and Arnold Schwarzenegger for the good guy, whatever his name is,\u201d Medavoy said, as Cameron later recalled. The director\u2019s reaction was immediate: \u201cGale and I just looked at each other and thought, You\u2019ve got to be fucking kidding me.\u201d<\/p>\n