Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted more kills Terminator 2: Judgment Day because he wanted to beat Sylvester Stallone.
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted more kills Terminator 2: Judgment Day because he wanted to beat Sylvester Stallone.
During the ’80s and ’90s, there was a notorious rivalry between Schwarzenegger and Stallone for the roles of Hollywood’s two most popular action heroes. Schwarzenegger had hits like “Terminator,” “Commando,” and “Predator,” while Stallone produced Rambo movies, Rocky movies, and other movies like “Cobra” and “Over the Top.”
At the height of her hubris, Schwarzenegger reunited with director James Cameron to star in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, widely considered one of the greatest sequels of all time. This film took Schwarzenegger’s villain character from the original 1984 film and turned him into a hero. This was a bold move that Schwarzenegger was initially unsure about.
“The reason it became a big hit was number one, Jim Cameron.” said Schwarzenegger at a panel discussion at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. “Jim Cameron is a brilliant writer. He had this brilliant idea, although I was suspicious at first. He said, ‘I want to make you a good Terminator.’”
“I said, ‘What do you mean by a good Terminator?’ In the first case, I killed 68 people,” he said. “In the second, I have to kill 150. We’re going up! Cut their throats, shoot them with a cannon and run them over with a car.’ I had to trump Stallone. I said my whole mission was to be number one at killing a lot of people on screen.”
Cameron was undeterred by Schwarzenegger’s pleas and responded to his pleas, “Hasta la vista baby.” “He said, ‘Arnold, cut it out. You are a very sick guy. “I’m going to make sure you don’t kill a single human in Terminator 2,” Schwarzenegger said. “I said that was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. How can this be Terminator 2 without me killing anyone? Throw in at least a few symbolic corpses.”
How long is Terminator 2?
“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” lasts 2 hours and 17 minutes.