Once upon a time, someone created a "Facial Paralysis Ranking" for Hollywood stars. Stallone, who indeed suffered from facial paralysis as a child, undoubtedly ranked first. But who would be second? Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger? After the release of Terminator 2, there would be no debate.
Throughout the entire film, Schwarzenegger kept a stern expression. But to be fair, he was playing a robot—who's ever seen an expressive robot with eyebrows dancing across its face? Especially when it's a killing machine.
In fact, during filming, there was a scene that showed off this tough guy's acting skills: John teaches the T-800 how to smile. The T-800 analyzed someone's smile using his system, then forced a grin.
Unfortunately, when James Cameron saw that smile in the editing room, he cut it without hesitation. According to him and the editor, the smile was far too creepy and terrifying. It would've made the audience extremely uncomfortable. If left in, the film would've likely received a flood of complaints after its release.
In a conversation between the T-800 and Sarah Connor, the culprit behind Skynet—Miles Dyson—is introduced. Sarah Connor retrieves a cache of weapons she had hidden in her friend's basement and sets off alone to kill Miles Dyson and prevent the birth of Skynet.
This sequence highlighted Linda Hamilton's fierce and rugged side to the fullest. Sometimes Ryan truly couldn't understand—how could a seasoned playboy like James Cameron fall for her? Could it be that white folks really did have a different aesthetic?
But then again, he didn't realize that he himself was no different from a young white man!
Sarah Connor wounded Miles Dyson, but when faced with his wife and young son, she couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger. Just then, John and the T-800 arrived.
Speaking of which, it's worth mentioning that Miles Dyson was no longer played by the same actor from Ryan's previous life. But Cameron still chose a Black actor. In Hollywood blockbusters, there's an unwritten rule: the main villain can't be Black. In those films Ryan saw in his previous life, whenever the President was Black, he was always a positive figure. When the President was white, he was often portrayed as the villain. This, too, was a form of political correctness in movies.
Films like Shooter that did have a Black actor playing the primary villain all suffered disastrous box office results and terrible word-of-mouth.
To prove himself, the T-800 cut open his own arm with a knife, revealing the alloy skeletal hand beneath the artificial flesh. That moving mechanical hand became the best piece of evidence.
"Oh my God!"
A wave of gasps rippled through the theater.
Miles Dyson decided to help them destroy the lab at his company. After they entered the lab, they were eventually discovered by security, prompting a massive police response. After setting the explosives, Dyson was accidentally shot by SWAT officers storming the lab.
Surrounded by waves of police, the T-800 stood at the window and went on a rampage. The shot of Arnold Schwarzenegger firing a Gatling gun wildly was bound to be remembered for years.
After pulling out a grenade launcher, the T-800's first-person view reappeared. After scanning, the display showed a casualty count of "0.0"!
At this point, Ryan thought back to Terminator 3, which had a similar shot—but lacked the decimal point. The difference between a great director and an average one is shown in these small details.
Despite the intense assault from the police, the T-800 remembered John's words and only shot them in the legs, killing no one. Eventually, he commandeered a SWAT van and, with John and Sarah having retrieved the chip and robotic hand, broke through the siege.
As mentioned earlier, how could a blockbuster movie not include a Black hero? Before dying, Miles Dyson pressed the detonator, blowing the entire lab sky-high.
But the relentless T-1000 reappeared. After hijacking a police helicopter, the film entered its climax.
This was the most grueling shoot in Ryan's acting career. All the lead actors suffered injuries one after another. Even though he was a protected cast member, Ryan had at least a dozen scrapes and bruises. When Nicole came to visit the set and saw this, she stormed into Cameron's trailer and had a serious conversation with him.
This high-stakes sequence had most of the audience in the theater holding their breath, afraid to miss a single detail.
After the liquid nitrogen tanker and the pickup truck collided repeatedly, the final battleground was reached: a steel mill.
The tanker crashed into the factory, and the leaking liquid nitrogen froze the T-1000. As the T-1000 tried to keep advancing, his legs froze and broke off, eventually turning his whole body into an ice sculpture.
"Hasta la vista, baby!"
The heavily damaged T-800 fired a shot, shattering the T-1000 into pieces. Just as the audience thought the T-1000 was finally finished, molten metal from the overturned smelting pot began to flow—and the T-1000 rose from the fire once more!
The T-800 and T-1000 began a brutal hand-to-hand fight. But the T-800 was ultimately inferior. The T-1000 impaled him on a metal rod, and the red glow in his mechanical eye finally dimmed.
"Is he… dead?"
It wasn't just Nicole Kidman—many in the theater sighed. This diligent, flesh-and-blood-like robot had already become human in their eyes.
John Connor and Sarah Connor were cornered, driven to the edge of the molten steel vat by the T-1000, who had morphed into Sarah. Just when all hope seemed lost, a glimmer of red light returned to the T-800's mechanical eye. The camera switched to his first-person view… Backup power initiated!
Creak—creak—
One by one, the T-800 pulled the steel rod from his body.
Whoosh—
Each time he moved, a round of applause echoed in the theater—not loud, but distinctly audible.
Sarah emptied her shotgun into the T-1000, but he remained unharmed. He even wagged his finger at her mockingly. Both John and Sarah were filled with despair and tried to flee. Just then, the T-800 arrived via a conveyor belt and used the grenade launcher to blow the T-1000's upper body to shreds.
The T-1000 could no longer hold his form, staggered, and fell backward into the molten steel. In the scorching metal, he struggled in agony until, with a final scream, he met his end.
"Is it dead?" John Connor asked.
"Terminated," the T-800 replied.
After a follow-up question, John threw the recovered chip and robotic hand into the furnace.
"It's all over," Sarah Connor breathed a sigh of relief.
"No… there's one more chip," the T-800 pointed to his own head. "It must be destroyed."
Then he handed the control switch of the conveyor to Sarah. "My programming doesn't allow me to self-terminate. You must lower me into the molten steel."
"No! No!" John tried to stop the T-800.
"I'm sorry, John. I'm sorry!" The T-800 slowly moved his battered body forward.
"No! It's okay! I want you to stay!" Tears streamed from John Connor's eyes.
"I must go. Everything must end here." The T-800 pulled the chain and stood on the conveyor.
"I order you… I order you not to go! I order you not to go!" John cried, pushing against the T-800's heavy body.
"I know now why you cry," the T-800 said after gently wiping away John's tears, "but it is something I can never do."
"Goodbye."
He shook Sarah's hand for the first and last time. As the classic score played, he let go of the chain and slowly gave a thumbs-up while sinking into the molten steel.
That moment of emotion left a deep, lasting impact. The T-800's self-termination moved countless hearts. Some more sensitive viewers even had tears in their eyes.
Without a doubt, that final scene elevated the entire film's theme, turning it into a timeless classic. Even ten or twenty years later, viewers would remember the T-800's sacrifice for humanity—and that final thumbs-up.
Even though Ryan's performance in the final scenes surpassed both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, that one closing shot shattered the advantage he had built throughout the film.
That's just how it was. Ryan was confident that both audiences and critics would agree his acting was the best in the film, but the most iconic character would always be the T-800. This righteous and brave machine hero, with nothing but steel bones and a resolute face, was enough to become one of cinema's most legendary robot figures.
When the credits rolled, thunderous applause broke out instantly. The overwhelming sound lasted for several minutes. No one doubted the film's brilliance. As long as the collapsing Red Empire didn't pull the whole world into a nuclear war, the movie was guaranteed to be a box office hit.
Attendees of the premiere rushed to congratulate the cast and crew—especially James Cameron, who instantly became the center of attention.
Of course, as one of the film's four main actors, Ryan was surrounded by compliments as well.
Most of those who came to greet him were veterans of the industry, much older than him. They loved patting him on the shoulder, which made Ryan feel slightly awkward—and a bit annoyed.
Luckily, he was going through a growth spurt. Soon, he'd be a real young man. But for child stars, the most awkward phase was just around the corner.
In Hollywood, the period between 14 and 17 years old was the hardest for child actors. Too old for child roles, too young for adult ones, they often had to accept minor roles to hone their craft until they either successfully transitioned or faded away.
Ryan was maturing early. He was much taller than his peers—many 13-year-old boys weren't even close to his height. With his 5-foot-3 frame, playing roles like The Sixth Sense or Home Alone would be a disaster for any movie.
So for now, he didn't plan on taking any new roles. After all, he didn't rely solely on movies to boost his popularity or influence.