Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed he stole the leading role in The Terminator from OJ Simpson.
The Hollywood action hero was catapulted to superstardom after playing the cyborg assassin in James Cameron’s iconic sci-fi action movie back in 1984, but he once revealed that former NFL star OJ was initially cast in the role. “It was actually OJ Simpson that was the first cast Terminator,” Arnold explained. “Then somehow (James Cameron) felt that he was not as believable for a killing machine. So then they hired me. That’s really what happened.”
The ex-sports star-turned-actor became one of the most prolific murder suspects in history after he was charged with the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, but was later acquitted in a high-profile trial. News of OJ’s role in The Terminator emerged after it was announced he had died following a battle with cancer on Wednesday at the age of 76.
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In an interview with The Independent back in 2019, Arnold revealed he has a picture of his iconic character from the movie that was painted by director James Cameron, but it was initially drawn with OJ’s likeness. “On the painting that I have at home – it was painted by Jim Cameron. Underneath my face is actually OJ Simpson’s face. It was already painted on it, with the leather jacket and the gun in the hand. I have the painting in my office. So if anyone would ever scrape off the part of my face, underneath will be OJ,” the former California governor laughed.
However, the Oscar-winning filmmaker claimed Arnold had lied about OJ being cast as the cyborg assassin, and said the former American football player was “never” in the running for the role. “Let me correct that right now. Arnold is literally just wrong. I know it’s hard to imagine! You don’t argue with Arnold,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “There’s no OJ under that painting… OJ Simpson was never in the mix at all. That was rejected out of hand before it ever got any traction.”
James, who helmed The Terminator as well as the hugely successful sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day, said OJ’s name was suggested by a movie studio boss, but was quickly shot down. “[Producer and co-screenwriter] Gale Hurd and I looked at each other like that was the stupidest thing we’d ever heard in our lives,” he recalled. He also confessed he initially wanted to reject Arnold for the role, as he was “very negative” on the idea of the former bodybuilder playing the lead in his movie. “It didn’t seem to make sense to me, he didn’t strike me as an articulate guy,” James admitted.
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