Casting directors and filmmakers in Hollywood in the late ‘80s had their reservations about hiring actors of color in films. Not just that, but even if they were hired, they were either depicted in a stereotypical way or had considerably lesser screen presence compared to their Caucasian co-actors.
Eddie Murphy is one of the most notable actors who changed the landscape for Black artists in Hollywood and made it favorable for more actors of color to appear in films. He starred in Beverly Hills Cop (1984) as Axel Foley.
But, the same year Murphy’s film was released, another highly revered Hollywood director came out with his own exotic science fiction epic – The Terminator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Terminator was James Cameron’s third film credit and he caught Hollywood off guard with his casting choices for the film. Though it was risky, to begin with, Cameron saw things differently. He came with a follow-up – Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991.
James Cameron On His Casting Ideology
Kenneth Turan (retired film critic) sat down with James Cameron in 1991 and asked him a wide range of questions about films he had made, like Aliens (1986) and The Abyss (1989).
Turan asked Cameron to elaborate on how he ended up casting Black actors. His question wasn’t surprising as most filmmakers during that era did not generally look toward talented Black actors and sidelined them for minor roles.
“I noticed in both Terminator films that you have black actors in major roles,” asked Turan.
“I didn’t want to do just another kind of hip-talking black cop or detective. I thought, ‘Hey, how about the smartest guy in the movie? How about the computer scientist?’ If it doesn’t hurt the film and you can do something positive, it’s got to be better,” replied James Cameron.
He [Cameron] also noted that The Terminator franchise became surprisingly popular with Black audiences.
Notable Black Actors In The Terminator Duology
The late Paul Winfield, who played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in King (1978) was hired by James Cameron to play Lieutenant Ed Traxler.
The character was quite consistent with Cameron’s statements in the interview as Traxler was depicted as a smart and hard-working police officer who dealt with situations wisely.
The Black population in the United States could relate to Winfield’s portrayal of the character and contributed massively to the film’s success.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day cast Joe Morton (Justice League) as a computer scientist. Morton played Miles Dyson who invented the microprocessor that would be used to create artificial intelligence.
No question that both films spoke to everyone sitting in the audience beyond race and gender. The Terminator earned $78 million at the box office and Judgment Day skyrocketed to $515 million.
Source: Terminator Files
