Why Sting turned down Kyle Reese in The Terminator

Last Updated on January 26, 2024

“Come with me if you want to live!” But don’t bother if you don’t care for James Cameron’s movies. Michael Biehn — who played Kyle Reese in 1984’s The Terminator — revealed that singer Sting turned down playing the character because he didn’t like the director’s previous work…Piranha II: The Spawning.

Biehn — who was also featured in deleted scenes in Terminator 2: Judgment Day — remembered Sting’s fateful words to Cameron during the casting process, telling Michael Rosenbaum on his podcast, “I think originally [James Cameron] wanted Sting because he thought Sting had this unearthly quality about him. And I think he met with Sting, and I think Sting basically said, ‘Yeah, I just saw Piranha 2. I think I’ll take a pass on this thing.’ Something along those lines. I’m not sure how serious Jim was about him. I’ve never heard any other name associated with Kyle Reese.” Considering Sting played Feyd-Rautha in Dune for David Lynch, he must’ve really dug Eraserhead!

Sting was actually fairly prolific in the 1980s when it came to appearing in movies, playing minor or supporting roles for the likes of Terry Gilliam (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen), Mike Figgis (Stormy Monday) and more. But the very idea of Sting being cast in The Terminator at least lets us picture the alternate version starring him and O.J. Simpson. Others who have been rumored to be in consideration for the role of Reese include Matt Dillon, Tommy Lee Jones, Christopher Reeve, and even The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen.

But Cameron wouldn’t entirely discard Sting, as the singer’s music — particularly a song off of 1985’s The Dream of the Blue Turtle — helped influence T2. We guess the ecstasy didn’t hurt, either…But outside of Sting potentially having run-ins with Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator has quite a history behind it, from its origins as a nightmare by Cameron to its current status as one of the key sci-fi actioners of all time. You can get more on that our episode of “WTF Happened to This Movie?!”

Sting has been nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar four times. 

How do you think Sting would have done as Kyle Reese in The Terminator? Give us your thoughts in the comments section.