“At 49 years old, I’m still amazed to be here sitting and talking about Terminator 2,” says Edward Furlong (Glendale, 1977) on the other side of the video call.
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From Los Angeles (California), the American actor meets with Culto to talk about James Cameron’s revolutionary sequel released in 1991, which in recent weeks has returned to cinemas worldwide – including Chile – due to its 35th anniversary. A return in a remastered 4K copy featuring 3D, 4DX, D-BOX, and other special formats, as well as conventional theaters.
While a new opportunity opens for fans to revisit it and others to discover it for the first time on the big screen, the actor makes a confession: he has seen Terminator 2: Judgment Day only once in the last three decades. It was some time ago with Ethan, his son who is now 19 years old. “I hadn’t seen it since the 90s,” says the man behind John Connor.
Furlong reveals the reason: “I find it a bit difficult to watch things I’ve done on screen, but I discovered it was much easier when I watched them with my son, because I was very young. I managed to take some distance and just watch them.”
The actor from American History X (1998) came to embody the young hero of the story partly because he had the attributes the production was looking for and partly because the other candidates with more classical training did not convince Cameron and company.
Mali Finn, the film’s casting director, needed a boy who represented that kind of toughness and strength that is hardly learned in an academy. She didn’t find that quality in any professional actor, so she chose to start visiting clubs where boys shared and did activities after school. The search led her to Pasadena, where she identified a boy leaning against a wall by a pool. It was Edward Furlong at 13 years old.
Less than a month later, Furlong was on the same filming set with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, under the direction of James Cameron. The first stage was difficult – it is said that the filmmaker, dissatisfied with his performance, considered looking for another option – but then he successfully incorporated the guidelines of acting coach Mike Muscat and definitively took over the role.
What was not immediately known is that the film appeared at a turbulent moment in his life. Given the troubled reality at home – his stepfather was an alcoholic – his mother allowed him to live with Nancy, his sister, and her husband. He was with them when the filming of Terminator 2: Judgment Day began.
“I had no idea it would become something so iconic. But I feel very lucky to have been part of something that, I suppose, represents the spirit of the time,” he reflects.
-Is it difficult for you to separate those memories from the experience of having made Terminator 2: Judgment Day?
Well, maybe it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been at a boys’ club in Pasadena. I think the reason I was there is because… That’s where I started going to hang out, and sometimes in life one thing leads to another and sometimes bad things turn into good things. Things changed overnight.
-Did you ever talk about that with James Cameron or the rest of the team?
It was something I talked about, yes. I mean, I think part of the reason I got the role in the film is because they were looking for a real kid, and I guess I could use my teenage angst or whatever I had. But yes, I think that’s part of the reason I probably ended up making the movie or got the role in the first place: I could bring to the role many of the things I was going through.
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-Is there any advice Arnold Schwarzenegger gave you that has stuck with you all these years?
I don’t remember any particular advice, but watching him work was a great lesson. I learned a lot just by observing him. He is very inspiring, very professional. He motivates you to work, motivates you to do a good job, because he’s not an actor who complains. No matter how many hours he’s worked or how long he has had to sit, he always has a good attitude. He always stays positive, works very hard, and gives his best. And I think I learned a lot because that was one of my first examples of how to be a professional and how to show up to work and be on set.
-Not all science fiction movies age as well as Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Why do you think it still resonates today?
People use the word ‘genius’ too easily, but I think it does apply to Jim Cameron. He is a brilliant filmmaker. Practically all his movies hold up quite well over time. Obviously with Terminator the theme of AI and all that is fundamental, something he already anticipated in 1984 when he made the first one, which is quite surprising. And I think there is something to be said about the practical effects. Everything is very practical and the use of special effects is minimal. Today people are still impressed when they see the truck scene or the helicopter scene. Those things still hold up.
-You recently said you would like to participate in a new Terminator movie, if Cameron were involved. Is that so?
I would love to. I mean, just being able to work with Cameron again would be amazing.
-In this era of AI boom, do you think that potential new movie should be faithful to the first two or propose something revolutionary?
If Cameron were to make a Terminator movie, I would trust whatever he does.
-It’s probably natural to feel some ownership of the character when it comes to such an iconic role. Do you feel that way?
With John Connor? Yes, to some extent. I mean, I was the first to play him. John Connor as a character has been such an important part of my life. I’m 49 and I still talk about him. I was 13 (when I played him), so that character has been a huge part of my life. I guess, in a way, yes, I feel some ownership of him.
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-Besides yours, do you have any other favorite version of John Connor?
I’m the best. What are you talking about? Mine!
