He’s one of cinema’s greatest villains: How did Robert Patrick create this iconic character 33 years ago?

Released in 1991, Terminator 2 left its mark on several generations of action movie fans. Even today, it is considered one of the best feature films of its genre. If James Cameron’s works have had such an impact on people’s minds, it is largely due to his fascinating villain: the T-1000.

With his steely gaze, fast movements and terrifying charisma, he manages to steal the show from the film’s star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The mimetic polyalloy robot was played by Robert Patrick, who landed his first major role there at the age of 33.

Over time, the character became a true icon of pop culture. He even appeared in two cult comedies of the 90s: Wayne’s World and Last Act Hero. If the T-1000 seems so scary and unsettling to us, it is partly due to a very specific characteristic, its famous mechanical walk and running with outstretched arms.

“We came up with this running style during martial arts training for the film. I was asked to create a gait that looked very efficient, that got to the point and gave the impression that I was seeing someone very advanced, and it worked. What we see on screen is the T-1000 always had a target., She confided in Robert Patrick on the set of Conan O’Brien in 2016.

The gaze of an eagle

“I also studied the movements of many animals to find the right way to walk. I wanted to show through movement and gaze that the T-1000 never takes its eyes off the target it’s chasing.”– adds the actor.

“Especially the look of the eagles inspired me and I had to look with my head down a little bit, well attached to the ground, very straight, very stiff and that I played a lot with the movements of the hips.Robert Patrick explains.

At the forefront of innovation

If the T-1000 has become an iconic bad guy, it’s also thanks to the special effects team led by James Cameron. The latter wanted VFX to match his ambition: so he called three different companies for Terminator 2.

We can cite Fantasy II Film Effects for the war sequences, 4-Ward for the nuclear explosion and molten metal, and finally, ILM, George Lucas Company, for the animation and computer graphics of the T-1000.

53 million dollars, more than half of the total budget was spent on the special effects of the film. It shows on screen, and many observers consider Terminator 2 a revolution in this field. This is not surprising when we know the innovative spirit of James Cameron, who has constantly pushed the technological boundaries, from the Abyss to Titanic through Avatar.