Robert Patrick

Patrick worked for years in low-budget independent and direct-to-video action films through the 1980s, building a reputation as a reliable, intense supporting player before James Cameron cast him in one of the decade's most demanding villain roles.

He studied birds of prey to build the T-1000's terrifying stillness — the liquid-metal counterpoint to Schwarzenegger's bulk. He trained extensively in running form and predatory movement to give the character an unnervingly smooth, tireless quality on screen, contrasting deliberately with Schwarzenegger's more mechanical gait.

The role, played mostly through practical stunts and only sparingly through then-groundbreaking CGI, made him one of the most recognizable villain performances of the 1990s, and it remains the single role most identified with his long subsequent career in film and television.