When the first Terminator film came out in 1984, it would go on to spawn one of the largest sci-fi franchises in history.
The futuristic action film didn’t just launch Titanic director James Cameron’s film career, but it also secured bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger’s status as a leading man in Hollywood.
The Terminator followed a cyborg assassin called the Terminator (Schwarzenegger) which has been sent back in time from 2029 to 1984.
The deadly robot was made to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) as her unborn son, John Connor, is set to save the human race from being wiped out by the cyborgs.
The first Terminator film ended up making $78.3 million, and has since generated a multi-billion-dollar franchise of movie sequels, video games and television shows.
To mark the anniversary of the film’s release on 26 October 1984, Daily Star has looked at what the star-studded cast got up to next.
Arnold Schwarzenegger – The Terminator
(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Former Mr. Universe, Arnold Schwarzenegger played the film’s titular character, the Terminator.
The hunk had already dominated the bodybuilding world as the youngest ever Mr Olympia champion at the age of 23, going on to win the title a whopping seven times after his first trophy in 1970.
However, his Terminator role gained him worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film star, and he went on to front a whole host of mega movies including The Running Man (1987), Predator (1987) and Total Recall (1990).
He has reprised his iconic Terminator role a number of times too, appearing in sequels such as Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
(Image: Getty Images)
The action superstar’s career took a surprising turn when he was elected as the 38th Governor of California in November 2003, after running as the Republican candidate, serving in the role until 2011.
The action star’s love life has been rather more rocky, though.
In 1977, Arnold met television reporter Maria Shriver, who is the niece of former U.S President John F. Kennedy.
The couple met at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977, and they tied the knot in 1986.
(Image: FilmMagic)
The couple share four children – Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher – all of whom were born in Los Angeles.
Sadly though, Arnold and Shriva ended their relationship after 25 years of marriage, and the Los Angeles Times revealed that Arnold had fathered a child with the couple’s housekeeper, Patricia Baena.
Arnold said it was seven or eight years before he discovered he had fathered the child, named Joseph, with his employee.
The star has provided financial support for Joseph and in 2010, KNX 1070 radio reported that he bought a four-bedroom house in California.
(Image: Paris Match via Getty Images)
Arnold and Shriver finalised their divorce in 2017, but the scandal continued when Danish-Italian actress Brigitte Nielsen said that she previously had an affair with Schwarzenegger during the production of Red Sonja, which was just after he began his relationship with Shriver.
In 2014, Arnold, who confirmed the affair, said: “I’m least proud of the mistakes I made that caused my family pain and split us up.”
Schwarzenegger has been dating physical therapist Heather Milligan, who is 27 years younger than him, since 2015.
Michael Biehn – Kyle Reese
(Image: Channel 5)
Michael played Sergeant Kyle Reese in Terminator, later reprising his role in the sequel.
He almost didn’t get the part of Reese because he spoke in a Southern accent in his audition and the producers didn’t want the character to seem regionalised, but he managed to get another audition and won the role.
The sci-fi star is famed for his work in a ton of hit action films directed by James Cameron such as Aliens (1986), for which he received a Best Actor Saturn Award nomination.
His first ever movie role was an uncredited character in Grease (1978) who gets hit in the stomach by John Travolta’s character Danny in a game of baseball.
(Image: Getty Images)
Biehn has been married three times, but he’s now married to fellow actor Jennifer Blank.
The pair worked together on their 2011 horror film, The Victim, which saw them act alongside each other, with Biehn directing the project and Jennifer co-producing it.
Michael has five sons, including twins with his ex-wife Carlene Olson, two sons with his second wife Gina Marsh, and one son with Jennifer.
Linda Hamilton – Sarah Connor
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
Linda is best known for her role as Sarah Connor in the Terminator films.
She’s no stranger to gritty action films, because she starred in the 1984 horror film, Children of the Corn, as well as the disaster movie, Dante’s Peak (1997).
The Hollywood actress was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award for her role as Catherine in the TV series, Beauty and the Beast.
After her first marriage ended in 1989, Hamilton actually got married to her Terminator director James Cameron.
(Image: Getty Images)
Hamilton and Cameron had a daughter called Josephine in 1993, and the couple tied the knot in 1997.
However, they divorced in 1999, which resulted in a whopping $50 million settlement.
Despite being a Democrat, Linda threw her support behind her Terminator co-star Arnold when she voted for him in the 2003 California election, when he was standing as a Republican candidate.
Linda bravely opened up about her bipolar disorder when she appeared on Larry King Live in 2005.
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
She said her bipolar disorder led to violent mood swings and even suicidal thoughts during her previous marriage, and believing the condition caused the breakdown of both her marriages.
She has since gone on to get therapy and medication for the disorder.
During filming for the second Terminator film, Hamilton was hit with permanent hearing damage after Schwarzenegger fired a shotgun inside a lift, as she had removed her ear plugs.
Earl Boen – Dr. Silberman
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
Earl is best known for playing criminal psychologist Dr. Peter Silberman in the Terminator, and he’s the only actor aside from Arnold who has appeared in the first three movies.
He even made an appearance via archive footage in the 2019 film, Terminator: Dark Fate.
However, he’s also known for voicing characters such as Mr. Bleakman in Clifford the Big Red Dog, Senior in Kim Possible, and the Narrator in the online fantasy game, World of Warcraft.
Boen tied the knot with fellow actor Carole Kean in 1970, but she sadly passed away from ovarian cancer at the age of 58.
Paul Winfield – Ed Traxler
(Image: ABC)
Paul played police officer Ed Traxler, who tries to protect Sarah from the Terminator.
Before Terminator, Paul had already gained critical acclaim for his role in the Great Depression film Sounder (1972), which earned him an Oscar nod.
He also got nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as Martin Luther King Jr. in the television miniseries King, which aired in 1978.
However, he also acted in films such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
(Image: Getty Images)
He finally won an Emmy in 1995 for his role in Picket Fences, after four previous Emmy nominations.
Although Winfield was gay, he kept it quiet from the public, and he had a relationship with his Sounder co-star Cicely Tyson for 18 months before realising his sexuality.
His long term partner of 30 years, Charles Gillan Jr., passed away from bone cancer in 2002.
Two years later, Winfield himself died of a heart attack at the age of 64, following battles with obesity and diabetes.
Lance Henriksen – Vukovich
(Image: Getty Images)
When James Cameron was writing The Terminator, he originally pictured Lance Henriksen playing the titular role before Arnold eventually got it.
Henriksen played LAPD officer Vukovich in the movie, but the star actually served in the U.S Navy in the 1950s, gaining the rank of petty officer third class.
Lance was illiterate until the age of 30, the same age that he found his first ever theatre work as a set designer before going into acting.
(Image: Getty Images for IMDb)
After Terminator, Henriksen went on to work with James Cameron again on Aliens (1986), before starring in Alien 3 (1992) and Alien vs. Predator (2004).
Fans may also know him as the voice for Kerchak the gorilla in Walt Disney’s Tarzan (1999).
Henriksen has been married three times, and had four children, one of whom sadly passed away in 1995.
Bess Motta as Ginger
(Image: WireImage)
Motta played Linda Hamilton’s on-screen roommate, Ginger.
Despite Bess going on to appear in a couple of other projects, such as the first few seasons of The Home Show, Motta has gained fame as an exercise demonstrator.
The star appeared in the Canadian TV series, 20 Minute Workout, which ran for two seasons in 1983 and 1984.
The fitness fanatic has been branded the “Aerobics queen of the 1980s”.
She became an exercise guru after returning from England 30 pounds overweight.
She’s still found time to reconnect with her acting passion though, as she revealed to a terminator fan site that she has attended ComicCon events in the past.
Rick Rossovich – Matt
(Image: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Rick played Matt, Ginger’s boyfriend who gets murdered by the Terminator along with Ginger.
Before Terminator, he gained notability for playing Ron in Top Gun (1986) alongside Mission Impossible legend, Tom Cruise.
He’s since gone on to star in a range of major films, from romantic comedies like Rozanne (1987) to the military action film Navy SEALs (1990) alongside Charlie Sheen.
He has been married to his wife Eva Rossovich since 1985, and they share their two children.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
