The role of Kyle Reese remains John Connor, the eventual savior of humanity.
Despite the lighter tone of the movie’s less intense sequels, the original Terminator is a surprisingly dark and brutal horror that rarely pulls any punches. Upon revisiting the movie, it is easy to see how director James Cameron got the opportunity to helm Aliens off the back of this gritty thriller. However, one thing few viewers would guess from watching Terminator is that it was almost a starring vehicle for the lead singer of The Police.
When Cameron was casting Kyle Reese, a role that would eventually go to Aliens star Michael Biehn, the director considered The Police frontman Sting but was bluntly turned down by the singer due to his lack of experience as a director. Or rather, Cameron was technically turned down due to his actual experience as a director, as Piranha 2: The Spawning was the only title on his filmography at the time. Evidently, the credit was not sufficient to impress Sting according to a BFI interview with the helmer. According to Cameron, he was compelled to cast Sting due to the musician’s distinctive look, which was appropriately otherworldly for the role of Reese. Per the director: “He seemed slightly otherworldly – or at least not of this time." Cameron also added, "I felt vindicated when Sting played a major role in David Lynch’s Dune (1984) as the malevolent Feyd-Rautha.”
However, if Sting had been as forward-thinking as his image seemed, he might have realized the Jaws rip-off Piranha, but the follow-up was a critically maligned dud that jettisoned the original’s sharp satirical edge and added flying fish.
However, what Sting didn’t know was that future titular Terminator himself was first conceptualized when Cameron suffered a fever dream due to exhaustion while working on the Pirahna sequel, so despite all the odds, the Terminator franchise still owes a big debt to Piranha 2: The Spawning.
