James Cameron said Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't necessarily the image he was looking for initially when he crafted the appearance of the murderous, autonomous android in "The Terminator." The filmmaker opened up about the film in an interview with Empire,

It’s been 40 years since The Terminator, and by extension, Arnold Schwarzenegger, were introduced to the world. It was James Cameron ’s first movie (he apparently doesn't count Piranha II) and it's arguably still Cameron's best movie.

Filmmaker James Cameron has reflected on making The Terminator 40 years on, admitting that some parts of the cult film now seem “pretty cringeworthy”. The cult science fiction, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cyborg assassin, was originally released in 1984 and marked the legendary filmmaker’s directorial debut.