Michael Biehn - Career

Career

Michael Biehn got his start with a bit part in the film version of Grease in 1978. He appears in two scenes, the most memorable of which is one in which John Travolta's character, Danny, hits Biehn's uncredited character in the stomach while playing basketball. In 1981, he played a stalker in The Fan; at the time the film was shot, he was in his mid-20s, love interest Lauren Bacall was more than 30 years his senior. After a few more films, Biehn played Kyle Reese, a sergeant sent back in time by John Connor to save his mother, Sarah Connor, in the 1984 film The Terminator. He starred in two other films directed by James Cameron: Aliens (as Corporal Hicks) and The Abyss (as Lieutenant Hiram Coffey), and had a small role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (his briefly reprised role as Reese which was removed from the theatrical release but restored in the special editions and the director's cut).

A picture of Biehn as Kyle Reese in The Terminator was reproduced as the cover-art of the 1987 video game Metal Gear, which was meant to portray the game's protagonist, Solid Snake.

In an early draft of Alien 3 written by William Gibson, Biehn's character Hicks (who had survived the events of Aliens) was to become the main protagonist, replacing Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). However, Walter Hill and David Giler penned the final script, which had Hicks killed off in the opening scene. Biehn, upon learning of his character's demise, demanded and received almost as much money for the use of his likeness in one scene as he had been paid for his role in Aliens.

In the 2000s, Biehn has taken acting roles ranging from big budget films such as The Art of War and Clockstoppers, to video games like Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, and independent movies, such as Havoc. He also starred in three TV series including the CBS drama The Magnificent Seven (1998–2000), the Tribune Entertainment syndicated TV series Adventure Inc.. (2002–2003), and the NBC TV series Hawaii (2004). All three shows were subsequently cancelled due to low ratings. Biehn was considered for a role in James Cameron's new science fiction epic film Avatar (2009), but Cameron felt his appearance in the film coupled with that of Sigourney Weaver's would remind people too much of Aliens.

Michael Biehn has developed a repertoire for performing combative military roles that have particularly involved the portrayal of a special forces soldier. This militaristic string of characters was first established with his role as Cadet John Alexander in The Lords of Discipline, followed shortly after by his performance as Sergeant Kyle Reese, a resistance movement soldier in the Terminator film series, and also Corporal Dwayne Hicks in Aliens. He has particularly played the role of a US Navy SEAL, which can be seen in his following film credits: Lieutenant Hiram Coffey in The Abyss, Lieutenant James Curran in Navy Seals, and the ill fated Commander Charles Anderson in The Rock.

Biehn, who said he was encouraged by Robert Rodriguez while on the set of Planet Terror to make his own film, has produced, written, directed and starred in The Victim, which was released in 2011.