Arnold Schwarzenegger has played a killer cyborg in every singleTerminatormovie, but his forgotten human role was his most important character in the franchise. In the firstTerminatormovie, Schwarzenegger played the T-800 as a villain trying to track down and kill Sarah Connor. In the second one,Schwarzenegger played a reprogrammed T-800 as a heroprotecting Sarah and her son John from a much more advanced Terminator. In the third one, he played a protector once again, this time saving John and his high school sweetheart.
InTerminator Salvation, Schwarzenegger’s likeness appeared for an uncanny-valley cameo. InTerminator Genisys, he played a Terminator named “Pops,” who raised Sarah in an alternate timeline. And in the most recent film,Terminator: Dark Fate, Schwarzenegger played a retired Terminator living a mundane human life as “Carl.” He’s been so integral to the franchise’s success thatevery attempt to replace Schwarzenegger asTerminator’s starhas been futile. ButSchwarzenegger’s most important role in theTerminatorfranchise wasn’t a Terminator at all.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Played Sergeant William Candy, The Human Model For The Terminators
Terminator 3’s DVD Bonus Features Explain Why The Terminators Look Like Schwarzenegger
In a little-seen sequence from the DVD ofTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines(available onYouTube), a group of military bureaucrats sit around a boardroom and watch a PSA bragging about Cyberdyne’s work with the Terminator program. It shows off the bulky T-1 models before introducing Sergeant William Candy, played by Schwarzenegger. Candy is the human model for the initial humanoid Terminator models. Of course, later versions would resemble Robert Patrick and Kristanna Loken, butthis explains why the T-800 and several other models look like Schwarzenegger.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machineswas the firstTerminatormovie with no involvement from the franchise’s creator, James Cameron.
There’s a bizarre but hilarious gag thatCandy is dubbed with a cartoonish American accent. When the generals say they don’t like the accent, a scientist with Schwarzenegger’s unmistakable voice tells him they can change the accent to something else. In a franchise where Skynet has taken human form and a T-800 has lived a boring suburban life under the name Carl, this is one of the weirdest pieces ofTerminatorlore. It explains why the Terminators look like the Austrian Oak in the goofiest way possible.
Wait, Is Sergeant William Candy Actually Canon To Terminator?
It’s Technically Not A Deleted Scene
It’s unclear if Sergeant Candy and his likeness are actually canon to theTerminatorfranchise. The scene isn’t actually a part ofTerminator 3’s final cut. It’s a special feature on its DVD release, but it’s not technically listed as a deleted scene. It’s also included as a bonus cutscene on aTerminator 3video game.It’s pretty much just a gag, so whether you want to see it as canon for theTerminatorfranchise is up to you. Frankly, the reason why the Terminators look like Schwarzenegger doesn’t really need a solid explanation — they had to look like someone.
