“The Terminator” producer says O.J. Simpson was 'never ever considered' for Arnold Schwarzenegger role

"Not even for a nanosecond," Gale Anne Hurd tweeted after Simpson's death, continuing a years-long trend of filmmakers pushing back on Schwarzenegger's claim.

The Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd has addressed an age-old rumor about the beloved sci-fi franchise in the wake of O.J. Simpson's death.

After news broke that the controversial ex-football star, actor, and accused murderer died Wednesday at 76, Hurd responded to an ongoing claim initially made by series star Arnold Schwarzenegger that Simpson was cast in the 1984 James Cameron–directed film before him.

"I realize that Arnold claims that O.J. Simpson was cast as The Terminator before we cast him. That is 100% NOT TRUE. And I should know," Hurd tweeted Thursday, before confirming that Lance Henriksen was formally considered for the part. "Jim and I never ever considered O.J. Not even for a nanosecond."

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Hurd, Cameron, and Schwarzenegger for comment.

In 2019, Schwarzenegger told The Independent that Simpson was the studio's first choice to play the part of a mechanical assassin sent back in time to kill a woman (Linda Hamilton) whose son would save humanity from an artificial intelligence apocalypse in the future.

Cameron later clarified on an episode of Max's Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace that Simpson's involvement never made it past an executive suggesting it.

Said the director, “Very early on, a highly placed person at one of the two studios that funded that film had a brilliant idea and called me up and said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ I said, ‘Well, no, I’m not.’ He said, ‘Are you sitting? O.J. Simpson for the Terminator!’ I said, ‘I actually think that’s a bad idea.’ It didn’t go anywhere."

The Terminator franchise kicked off in 1984, roughly a decade before Simpson — who, while rising to prominence as an NFL star, also built up a career as an actor in projects like Naked Gun — was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

The 11-month trial stemming from the pair's grisly deaths in June 1994 ended with Simpson's widely disputed acquittal, though a later civil lawsuit against Simpson in 1997 led to a Santa Monica jury finding him liable for the wrongful death of Goldman and battery of both Brown Simpson and Goldman. He was ordered to pay about $33 million in damages as a result.

The Terminator movie has pawned five theatrical sequels as well as the short-lived TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which ran from 2008-2009.

Read Hurd's social media posts about Simpson above.

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