OJ Simpson was originally cast to play The Terminator, Arnie Schwarzenegger has revealed.
Director James Cameron had Simpson due to play the cyborg, and Schwarzenegger was set to be rebel soldier Kyle Reese, reports The Sun.
But the Austrian actor, 76, said he showed “too much enthusiasm” for the character of the time-travelling assassin.
He told the Smartless podcast: “I think OJ Simpson was cast, not yet a contract signed, but was cast already to play The Terminator.
“So Cameron was trying to talk me into playing the Terminator and I said, ‘Nah, I want to play Reese’.
“He said, ‘No, you understand the Terminator.
“You talk about how he has to walk and turn his head like a machine.
“’That’s exactly what he has to do.’
“Anyway, he talked me into it.”
The 1984 film took more than $78 million at the box office, spawning several sequels.
Meanwhile, in 1995, ex-American football star Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. They were both stabbed to death in LA.
A civil trial later found him liable for their wrongful deaths.
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.