*This article contains SPOILERS
We interviewed Young Terminator (T-800 / Schwarzenegger stunt double) Brett Azar, about his involvement in Terminator Genisys and the controversial opening scene of Terminator: Dark Fate in which the T-800 CSM-101 (who later goes by the name of Carl) successfully completes its objective and terminates John Connor as a child.
Scroll down for our full interview (video)
Linda Hamilton Taking Control of Dark Fate Scene
Brett explained his training for the role of young Carl and also talked about how Linda Hamilton took control of the scene; bringing her knowledge and experience of the Sarah Connor character to make necessary changes to the scene…
TheTerminatorFans.com:
“You uploaded some videos to social media recently, of yourself practising for THAT scene, you know, where you kill John Connor in Terminator: Dark Fate – did it take you long to choreograph and train for that scene?”
TheTerminatorFans.com
Brett Azar:
“No. That was the simple, you know, the Terminator walk – I had that down from [Terminator] Genisys, it was just the timing, what I uploaded was just the walk and a very simple, like, shrug.
Brett Azar told TheTerminatorFans.com
There was gonna be- we were working on the fight of how Sarah Connor was gonna react and what she was gonna do; that all changed on filming day ‘coz we were just uh, it was really… Linda Hamilton really took control of Sarah Connor’s reaction to that, because she was there for it, she wanted to see- like, she wanted to make sure that it was as intense enough to be believable for her, she was so… personal with that reaction of seeing John shot, and she wanted to make sure that it was done justice, so she took control of that whole fight scene and uh, it was funny ‘coz we were doing the fight rehearsal and her [Linda Hamilton / Sarah Connor] stunt double, Maddie, did what we were choreographing, and she [Linda] goes ‘No, no no! It’s gotta be- you know, she knows, she’s smart. She’s not gonna just try to punch this guy in the head; it’s not gonna do much. She’s gonna go after the gun – she knows the gun is what’s gonna do the damage’.
So, she goes like ‘Okay Brett, get into your position and… ‘ so I walk up and I hold the gun and she jumps on my back, grabs the gun barrel and elbows me in the lip, and turns around and scratches my face – she clicked into Sarah Connor and it was so cool! But she was beating the sh*t outta me. So after that she clicks out and she goes: ‘See! That’s how it’s supposed to be!’ and then she was like ‘Oh my god, Brett, I’m so sorry!’ and I was like ‘No, don’t worry, they CGI my face – do whatever you want.’ So, she was so cool.”
Linda Hamilton’s embodiment and portrayal of the character of Sarah Connor has now spanned decades, and she of course knows her character better than anyone else.
It’s great that Linda cared enough to be hands-on with the character and was strong enough to voice her concerns on Terminator: Dark Fate; especially with a scene which needed digital trickery / younger body doubles like this.
Tim Miller Convinces Brett Azar to Kill John Connor
At first Brett was hesitant about the scene but after speaking with Terminator: Dark Fate Director Tim Miller, he was ready to achieve SkyNet’s ultimate mission… the termination of John Connor.
TheTerminatorFans.com:
“Was it good to film that scene or did you find it difficult, I mean, the death of John Connor has been extremely controversial within the fanbase – did you find it difficult to film that scene, emotionally and mentally?”
TheTerminatorFans.com
Brett Azar:
“When I first read it, and I was like ‘No, I can’t do this’ and, I was with Tim Miller and he goes ‘Don’t think of it that way, think of- you’re the one who gets to do this.’ I was like, ‘Alright, that’s pretty badass,’ like I’m- I, hashtag I killed John Connor, yeah, so that is truly, in terms of the franchise, that is the biggest honor that I’ve ever, you know, felt.
Brett Azar told TheTerminatorFans.com
That I can be that scene, um, the way they did it, I actually- I loved the way they did it, you know, ‘coz it’s the shock and awe that wakes you up right from a start… “
Brett Azar also talked passionately about Terminator as a member of the Genisys / T:DF team but also as a fan of Terminator. Brett like many fans is keen to see more Cyberdyne Models (T-800’s with different likenesses), even expressing an interest in playing a CSM-110 with his own likeness in a future re-dominated by SkyNet for a future war Terminator movie centered around the origins of CSM-101.
Watch the full interview in the video below.
Also, if you want to jump into the time displacement equipment – you can take a trip back to 2015 when we previously interviewed Brett for Terminator Genisys by clicking here.