Robert Patrick became iconic with his turn as the frightening liquid metal stalker and faux-police officer the T-1000 in James Cameron’s classic 1984 sequel T2: Judgement Day (now being re-released in 3D), but if things had gone a little differently, we could have been looking at a very different Terminator villain – one with more of an ’80s edge.
As Patrick has told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview, snarling rocker Billy Idol could have been the one in the role, were it not for a pretty unfortunate brush with a motorbike that kept him out of action.
“Billy Idol was set to do the role of the T-1000, as I understand,” Patrick says. “I can tell you that I saw Billy’s image when I went to Stan Winston after I got the role. Unfortunately, he got into a motorcycle accident and busted up his leg, so he wasn’t able to physically do what the role demanded.”
We could easily picture this face creepily stalking people as the T-1000 Terminator
As anyone who’s seen the film will know, the time that the T-1000 doesn’t spend staring creepily is spent running at full pace, and having an injured leg was an instant DQ for Billy (although with how much he’s raking in from merch sales recently thanks to Miley Cyrus, we’re sure he’s not crying into his cash-stuffed pillows).
Patrick himself had to train his arse off just to be able to sprint for long periods without having to double over with heavy breathing afterwards, which would have been very unlike a robotic killing machine.
On another music-related note, Patrick ended up with the role thanks to a strong pitch by his agent that played up his resemblance to another music icon with a distinct look.
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“My agent sold me to the T2 casting director (Mali Finn) as a cross between David Bowie and James Dean,” Patrick explains. “So, I was trying to create an intense presence while I was sitting with Mali. I had this intense stare, which she liked.”
As we know from movies like The Matrix or Twilight, not every role needs a virtuoso acting performance behind it – sometimes you just need a good, creepy stare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uTO31B1R2c
Robert Patrick did a great job playing a soulless, unstoppable Terminator
