WATN: Michael Biehn
Posted by Gareth Bunkham
“Come with me if you want to live…”
MICHAEL BIEHN
AS
KYLE REESE
Michael Biehn has become somewhat of a James Cameron regular over the years, appearing in no fewer than four Cameron films, although Biehn’s appearance as Kyle Reese in a dream sequence in TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY ended up on the cutting room floor, but was eventually included in the Director’s Cut of T2 on the DVD release.
Biehn’s film career began rather unspectacularly with an uncredited role in GREASE, which he followed up in the early eighties with the lame comedies COACH and HOG WILD. Whilst these films weren’t very good, or very funny, what they did do was feature Biehn in his first starring roles, which helped him land the role of the titular character in stalker thriller THE FAN in 1981, a role that would prove to be his big break. It was his role in THE TERMINATOR as time-travelling resistance soldier Kyle Reese that really put Michael Biehn on the Hollywood map though.
Two years later, Biehn reunited with James Cameron for his second big film; ALIENS playing Corporal Hicks, a role he stepped into after James Remar left due to those darn ‘creative differences’ that seem to plague so many film sets.
After starring in William Friedkin’s courtroom drama RAMPAGE in 1987, Biehn teamed up with Cameron for a third time on THE ABYSS playing Lieutenant Coffey. His next two films NAVY SEALS with Charlie Sheen and TIMEBOMB with the in-no-way-wooden Patsy Kensit weren’t massive hits and after his cut appearance in T2, Biehn recovered with the popular K2 and TOMBSTONE playing gunslinger Johnny Ringo.
Biehn’s next big screen role saw him work with William Friedkin again on JADE, the film that, along with KISS OF DEATH, managed to completely destroy David Caruso’s film career. After several inconsequential films, Biehn returned to what he seemed to do best; playing a Navy Seal in Michael Bay’s THE ROCK alongside his THE ABYSS co-star Ed Harris, in what would be best described as a cameo appearance.
Biehn’s career has faltered since the mid-nineties, with majority of his work coming in indies or straight to video garbage, his most notable roles coming in THE ART OF WAR with Wesley Snipes, the laughable horror CHERRY FALLS and CLOCKSTOPPERS in 2002.
As a big Michael Biehn fan, I’m hoping that his recent role in Tarantino and Rodriguez’s GRINDHOUSE can help to revive his career and rumours have been circulating that he could make an appearance in James Cameron’s upcoming AVATAR.
Tomorrow: LANCE HENRIKSEN
Sunday: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Yesterday: LINDA HAMILTON
Previously: BEVERLY HILLS COP, BACK TO THE FUTURE
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Fan of Michael, loved him in Aliens, and hope to see him in future movies.
I heard he was dead and was glad to hear it
[...] Tuesday: MICHAEL BIEHN [...]
I’ve seen just about every single one of Michael Biehn’s movies and I’m here to tell you, that man can act. And he’s not bad on the eyes either. So to the person who said he heard that MB was dead and glad of it, I think u need to get a life and get a reality check because ur nuts!!