20 Things You Didn't Know About The Terminator

Of course, before settling on Schwarzenegger for the central role, Cameron considered many different people for the T-800 – even Mel Gibson!

One such potential choice was basketball player and actor O. J. Simpson. Simpson was actually the primary choice for a while, and comics were even printed with him in the role. In a bizarre alternate reality, we could have had him over Schwarzenegger (thank goodness we never).

Eventually Orion and Cameron concluded that Simpson was just ‘too nice’ for the role and he was taken out of the running. Of course, Simpson would eventually be put on trial for murder and subsequently spend time in jail. The almost casting of Simpson might be one of the most strange near-misses in cinema history.