Its fun to talk about now.

I owe my entire life as an actor to this film.

Its an unbelievable thing and Im incredibly grateful that it happened to me.

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Do you remember what the casting process was like?

Yeah, oh yeah.

I was a complete unknown.

My agents told me that they were looking for someone who could create an intense presence.

Theyre not going to let me read the script.

But the whole auditioning thing was new to me as well, at the time.

I had only been in Hollywood for a short time; Id done a bunch of Roger Corman movies.

Id done a couple of plays.

I was doing a play when I got this audition.

So I was good on my feet and ready to ad-lib, improv, come up with some stuff.

It was one of those situations where I was the right guy at the right time.

Essentially what you see in the film is what I created in the audition.

They had previously cast Billy Idol.

He got injured, and I had been described as a cross between David Bowie and James Dean.

And that was a physical thing that Jim was looking for.

It was really the way I looked that got their interest.

I was a stunt guy.

I had a certain athleticism that lent itself for the role.

It was just one of those feelings that you have.

Had they told you that you were going to play a police officer at that point?

And I never really took it on as a police officer.

Thats interesting that you ask me that.

I didnt know anything until I read the script, which was the third part of the audition.

And I got the thumbs up that I was the guy they were going to go with.

The things that I didnt know were that Billy Idol had been cast, and hed got hurt.

I think Mario Kassar [producer] was pushing for him.

I think Mario wanted him.

And your personality wasnt preceding your character.

Am I repeating myself?

Im kind of in this haze of jet lag.

I cant imagine Billy Idol in a police outfit.

He mightve been better than me, I dont know.

Well never know, so it doesnt do us any good to sit and think about it.

Im just incredibly grateful that I got to do it.

I knew the film was going to be huge.

However, having seen it in 3D, it is a film that deserves to be released in 3D.

If any film deserved to be released in 3D< this was the one.

It’s an amazing film.

What was it like meeting James Cameron for the first time?

Because interestingly, he came from the Roger Corman background as well.

Yes, and that served me.

Because hed come out of the same environment.

You have to be affable, but then at the same time scary.

Its an interesting mix.

Yeah, and that was a difficult thing.

So that was kind of my subtext.

Youd asked me before whether I knew I was gonna play a cop: no.

And I never approached it as though I was playing a cop.

I always approached it first and foremost that I was the T-1000.

And then I would react in the scenes based on how the T-1000 would react.

So that was my core.

That was my foundation.

Making the T-1000 a singular thing in itself, and then from that everything else could be.

I remember knocking on the door.

Okay, Im a cop , but Im a machine first: Im the T-1000.

And Im trying to be human.

That was my subtext as an actor.

Its coming out in 3D, so itd better work!

It shouldve been this way!

Youve really fucked it up, goddamn you!

Do these chairs spin?

They look like they should, but theyre locked.

I wish they did.

Look, it blows my mind that people still recognise me from the movie.

It blows my mind, the impact its had on people.

But Ive had police officers that look like me that are proud of that fact!

I dont deserve it, you know what I mean?

Its too much for me to even comprehend.

The impact was immediate, too, wasnt it, because you were asked to do theWaynes Worldcameo.

Waynes Worldand theLast Action Hero,yeah.

Laura Michaels, the producer ofWaynes World,knew it would be funny.

Penelope Spheeris [the director] cast me, asked me to do it I did it for Penelope.

Believe you me, I didnt miss that I realised that.

Look, its an iconic fucking moment.

Im not the iconic guy the role is.

Im thrilled to be a part of it.

Theres so many things that go into making the T-1000.

You were talking about the physical thing.

Theres the running with the straight hands, which is now such an iconic part of the character.

That was my idea.

That was my idea.

You know, I can put a blade in him.

You know what Im saying?

Thats how it came about.

It wasnt that theres only one thing I want.

I want that fucking kid.

And how was I gonna get him?

How do we physically manifest that, and make people understand that thats all he wants.

Everythings focused on that every layer of the character.

Theres no distraction, no white noise with this guy.

Thats the theme you go with.

So every time he takes a hit, hes right back to the core.

That was the fun part about it.

We filmed the T2-3D event ride not the re-release, the ride.

And they said, Were not gonna pay you anything.

So I said, Well, Im not gonna do it.

If its that easy, you figure it out!

Man, Im proud of it.

It was high stakes.

It was a daunting thing.

I had to battle my own insecurities.

I had to stay committed to what I was going to do the performance, the physicality.

I worked my ass off, I trained four months before, getting into shape with Uzi Gal.

We developed on all these themes weve discussed.

It was like acting under a microscope.

There were a lot of frustrating things: marks I had to hit.

I had to keep my eyes here [points straight ahead].

I cant find the fuckin mark because I cant look at the fuckin mark!

I know but you gotta hit the mark!

It was that kind of thing.

Keeping myself under control.

These are the things I remember!

It was hard but very rewarding.

Jim is an intense man, who knows what he wants and hes gonna get it from you.

I just approached it from a military point of view.

There was no debate it was, Figure out how to fuckin do this.

And you do it.

And its gotta be interesting.

I was scared at a certain point.

In my head I was saying, God, am I doing enough?

There was also a part of me that was worried I was gonna get fired!

You know, I revealed that recently.

Why I had that feeling, Ive no idea.

I guess its because Im a whackjob, dude!

Robert Patrick, thank you very much.

Terminator 2: Judgment Dayis out in UK cinemas on the 29th August.