History Trivia / TheTerminator

* BillingDisplacement: Kyle and Sarah are the main characters in the first film, yet their actors, Creator/MichaelBiehn and Creator/LindaHamilton respectively, are billed below Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as The Terminator, who, while still the titular character and the BigBad, isn't seen as frequently.

* BillingDisplacement: Kyle and Sarah are the main characters in the first film, yet their actors, Creator/MichaelBiehn and Creator/LindaHamilton respectively, are billed below Creator/ArnoldSchwarznegger as the titular character, The Terminator, who, while still the BigBad, isn't seen as frequently.

* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger was originally considered for the role of Kyle Reese, as Cameron originally envisioned the killing machine as [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse having a more ordinary appearance]] to blend in with the rest of society, but changed his mind when he met Arnold and felt that he was in the presence of "a living machine". And before changing his mind and hiring Schwarzenegger, Creator/LanceHenriksen was Cameron's first choice to play the Terminator. Henriksen was instead cast as Detective Vukovich.

* BillingDisplacement: Kyle and Sarah are the main characters in the first film, yet are billed below The Terminator, who is the BigBad and isn't seen as frequently.

** Also, 27-going-on-28-year-old Creator/MichaelBiehn playing 21-year-old Kyle Reese.

** Several short deleted scenes show a subplot where Lt. Traxler, realizing that something is off about the entire situation, gradually comes to believe that Reese is telling the truth. In the final scene, now fully convinced after seeing the Terminator's unstoppable rampage at the police station, he survives his bullet wounds long enough to give Reese and Sarah his gun as they leave (which is where Kyle's gun comes from in the next scene).

** Likewise, Creator/OJSimpson was [[https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-10-25/o-j-simpson-terminator-james-cameron-arnold-schwarzenegger never seriously considered]] for the Terminator, although again there's a grain of truth to this claim. After Cameron's original choices (Creator/MelGibson and Creator/SylvesterStallone) turned down the role, Creator/OrionPictures executive Mike Medavoy mentioned Simpson in a chat with Cameron. Cameron dismissed the idea as "the stupidest thing (I'd) ever heard"; Medavoy then suggested Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, who was already being considered for Reese.[[note]]If Medavoy was serious, it's probably because Simpson's career was stalled at the time and the studio could hire him for relatively cheap.[[/note]] This story became embellished over the years, with Arnold himself claiming at one point that Simpson was actually ''cast'' as Terminator but backed out at the last minute; of course, the [[HarsherInHindsight retroactive irony]] of Simpson being deemed unsuitable to play a ruthless killer ensures that people repeat this story.

* WrittenInInfirmity: Creator/LindaHamilton injured her foot early on during production, and so every scene that involved Sarah Connor running (such as the alley chase behind Tech Noir and the tanker chase) was saved until the very end of filming so that Linda's foot could heal as much as possible. During the aforementioned alley chase, you can actually spot Linda slightly struggling to keep up with Kyle. This made the scene that much more tense and believable, because even with a KillerRobot closing in on her, there's no way an ordinary young woman can keep that up for long.

* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger was originally considered for the role of Kyle Reese, as Cameron originally envisioned the killing machine as [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse having a more ordinary appearance]] in order to blend in with the rest of society, but changed his mind when he met Arnold and felt that he was in the presence of "a living machine". And before changing his mind and hiring Schwarzenegger, Creator/LanceHenriksen was Cameron's first choice to play the Terminator. Henriksen was instead cast as Detective Vukovich.

* TheWikiRule: The [[http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator_Wiki Terminator Wiki]].

* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger was originally considered for the role of Kyle Reese, as Cameron originally envisioned the killing machine as [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse having a more ordinary appearance]] in order to blend in with the rest of society, but changed his mind when he met Arnold and felt that he was in the presence of "a living machine".
** And before changing his mind and hiring Schwarzenegger, Creator/LanceHenriksen was Cameron's first choice to play the Terminator. Henriksen was instead cast as Detective Vukovich.

* BreakthroughHit: Creator/JamesCameron became one of the most successful filmmakers of all time after ''The Terminator'' was released.

* DoingItForTheArt: Arnold was originally up for Kyle and was encouraged by his agent because Kyle was a bigger role and had more lines, but he was more interested in the Terminator because of the challenge of creating a convincing robot character: the UnflinchingWalk, the unblinking stare and the casual displays of SuperStrength.

** A few seconds after, the policeman behind the front desk is alerted to the Terminator about to ram-raid the station in a car by the leadlights illuminating him... but when the car comes crashing through the door it clearly has its headlights turned off.