20th Century Studios
Before The Terminator was released in 1984, James Cameron’s most notable achievement was the credit he earned for directing Piranha II: The Spawning. However, that game-changing movie (and its arguably superior sequel) sparked the meteoric rise of a man who is second to only Steven Spielberg on the list of directors who’ve raked in the most money at the box office over the course of their career.
Arnold Schwarzenegger had already made a bit of a name for himself with Conan the Barbarian before landing what remains his most iconic role, but based on what he said a few years ago, we almost lived in a world where another actor portrayed the killing machine known as the T-800.
Now, “actor” isn’t the label most people would primarily associate with O.J. Simpson. With that said, the man who made a name for himself on the football field also tried to break into Hollywood a couple of decades prior to the murder trial that will always cast a permanent shadow over everything else he’s achieved in life.
A few years ago, Schwarzenegger claimed “OJ Simpson was the first cast Terminator” in an interview where he credited Cameron for fighting the studio to get him the role that served as his big break. That oft-repeated “fact” pops up almost every single time The Terminator is talked about on Reddit, but it would appear the former governor of California doesn’t have his story straight.
According to Variety, Cameron addressed that rumor on Who’s Talking With Chris Wallace and asserted Simpson was never seriously considered for the lead role, saying:
“Very early on, a highly placed person at one of the two studios that funded that film had a brilliant idea and called me up and said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ I said, ‘Well, no, I’m not.’ He said, ‘Are you sitting? O.J. Simpson for the Terminator!’
I said, ‘I actually think that’s a bad idea.’ It didn’t go anywhere.”
Cameron has a history of pushing back against studio interference, and while he’s certainly not without his flaws, this is just one of many examples that prove he knows what he’s doing when it comes to making a movie.