Well, while fighting off the shakes from the Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles being on hiatus, I couldn’t help but start to wonder: what other actors and actresses could play a good Terminator?
So far, I came up with…
•Dolph Lundgren. (Nuff said, I trust.)
•Stallone. (C’mon…you know I had to suggest it. )
•Dominic Purcell—who, I’m surprised to learn, was neither the computer OR the hero pilot in Stealth.
•Brad Johnson—who is not actually Tom Berringer.
•Michael Wincott—Who I’m kind of surprised hasn’t yet played a character who impales people on arm-spikes so he can steal their form.
•I haven’t seen much of Grace Jones, lately…is she still in good enough shape to tear people’s faces off with her teeth?
•Vladimir Kulich—Who is also known as “that guy, from the thing.”
•Tony Todd—Because he’s…Tony Todd.
Aside from possibly Milla Jovovich, that’s all I came up with. Anyone else have any more suggestions (bonus points if it’s someone who you could reasonably believe would take the part, on the series, or the new movie)?
Terminators are robots with machine strength. They don’t need to look like huge humans to be effective killers. In fact a terminator that looks completely harmless might be more effective. It would certainly catch people off their guard. Could be kind of interesting to see David Hyde Pierce as an unstoppable killer.
Wow. David Hyde Pierce! I never would have thought of that, but you’re absolutely right. It makes a lot of sense. Robert Patrick was scary as heck as a Terminator, and he’s not very big or muscley or anything. I like the idea of continuing that progression.
As long as we’ve divorced ourselves from Terminator-as-badass-looking, I’ll nominate Steve Buscemi. He’d be really good at staying under the radar, 'cause no one would notice him. And he’s a really good actor, so I think he could switch between “machine-like” and portraying whatever human characteristics he needs to very easily. Plus, as he showed us in Con Air, he can make really bad dialouge work.
Still, I’m liking the David Hyde Pierce idea. Could you imagine? Like Sarah Connor would be in an art gallery or something, and thinking she’s safe because all the people in there are art gallery types, not terminator types…then whammo!!
I don’t watch SCC or anything, so I don’t know how the story is going, but is there a still need for an “old-style” Terminator? If so, I vote for Vin Diesel. His wooden acting might well suit the part as Arnold’s did way back when.
Another vote for David Hyde Pierce (although it’ll never happen, not in a million years - there’s such a thing as casting against type, sure, but I mean, c’MON! ). Vin Diesel could be good. How about Paul Bettany? He was the best thing in The DaVinci Code as the self-torturing Catholic assassin. Or Daniel Craig? I also think Viggo Mortenson could make a very scary, non-Ahnuld-ish Terminator.
If I was Skynet, sending terminators into the past, I sure as hell wouldn’t make them look like Arnold or Stallone. I’d make them look like the cuddliest, nicest people. Someone who would much better be able to gain the trust of humans. Someone who either looks harmless, or sexy, or funny.
So, we need an actor who can be charming and funny, yet who has the acting chops to suddenly look murderous.
I suggest Bill Murray.
Others in the same vein: PeeWee Herman, Steve Martin, Adam Sandler.
Or, go old. Why shouldn’t a terminator look like an 80 year old woman? No one would be threatened by her. She could approach anyone, anywhere. The cops would never suspect her. I’m having a hard time of thinking of any current actresses who are old and yet still spry enough to be be able to pull off being a terminator (CGI would help, but you’d still need some scenes where the terminator suddenly looks agile - even if it means just straightening up and walking fast). Twenty years ago, I would have said Jessica Tandy.
On the old male side, Anthony Hopkins could basically play Hannibal Lector again, only this time as a terminator.
Maybe you could take someone who’s older but not old, and use makeup. Someone like Sigourney Weaver, or even Goldie Hawn.
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). Vin Diesel could be good. How about Paul Bettany? He was the best thing in The DaVinci Code as the self-torturing Catholic assassin. Or Daniel Craig? I also think Viggo Mortenson could make a very scary, non-Ahnuld-ish Terminator.
