Terminator 2 Star Still Has A Bone To Pick With One Detail Of The T-1000 34 Years Later: "It Looks Bad"

Robert Patrick played one of movie history’s coolest villains, a relentless killing machine made of liquid metal, in the blockbuster Terminator 2: Judgment Day. But the character could’ve been even cooler, according to the star.

In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns for the return of his charitable Love Ride event, Patrick revealed the one T-1000 detail that prevents the iconic T2 bad guy from being as bad– as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s own T-800. It’s all about the wheels for the motorcycle-loving actor, but unfortunately, his ride in Judgment Day was wimpy compared to Schwarzenegger’s:

Rock and roll is sexy, adventurous, and it’s got that edge to it. Harleys are sexy and adventurous, and they have that edge to them too. So it’s a nice blend.

Even in the film culture, you think about my big film, Terminator 2, when Arnold throws his leg over that fat boy. Nothing says bada– more than Arnold Schwarzenegger throwing his leg over a fat boy. You’ve got the Terminator, T-800 on a fat boy Harley-Davidson, that’s pretty gosh darn bada–.

And you’ve got me, the T-1000, riding a little Kawasaki police bike. That’s what happens, Los Angeles police department, when you put your officers on a Kawasaki, they put it in a film, and it looks bad. It’s authentic, but do you really want your public image to be on a foreign motorcycle? American-made, baby!

Schwarzenegger’s T2 bike was a 1991 Harley-Davidson FLSTF Fat Boy, while Patrick was relegated to riding a Kawasaki KZ1000P, in keeping with the T-1000’s cop disguise.

Both machines saw plenty of action in James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel, with the Harley figuring in one of the film’s most iconic stunts, a motorcycle jump that made use of early CGI to erase the vehicle’s safety cables.

The T-1000’s relatively uncool Kawasaki police bike got its own chance to defy gravity, jumping from a building onto a helicopter, as Patrick’s character sought a vehicle upgrade while pursuing his Terminator 2 targets.

Patrick’s convincing performance as a soulless liquid-metal assassin helped Terminator 2: Judgment Day become a blockbuster, grossing $517 million worldwide. The film’s 91% Rotten Tomatoes score testifies to its status as one of the best sequels in movie history.

ScreenRant’s own Terminator 2 review calls the film “near-perfect,” saying, “Terminator 2 is a landmark achievement in sci-fi cinema, proving that inventive storytelling and challenging ideas don’t have to come at the expense of entertainment.”

Terminator 2’s T-1000 was iconic enough that Patrick spoofed the role in two subsequent movies, Wayne’s World and The Last Action Hero, the latter re-teaming him with Schwarzenegger. Terminator Genisys later brought the model T-1000 back into the franchise, but Patrick was replaced in the film by Byung-hun Lee.

Patrick’s casting in Terminator 2 came as a result of director Cameron’s wish to find an actor who provided a physical contrast to Schwarzenegger. “If the 800 series is a kind of human Panzer tank, then the 1000 series had to be a Porsche,” the director explained in 1991.

Rock star Billy Idol and original Terminator actor Michael Biehn were both considered for the role before Patrick.

Decades after creating one of sci-fi history’s best villains in Terminator 2, Patrick still finds himself playing heavies. He went up against Jack Reacher in Reacher season 2, and can currently be seen as main antagonist Jeremiah Dunmire in Tulsa King season 3.