Was O.J. Simpson considered to play the Terminator?

Question

I've seen it stated it many places on the net that the role of the Terminator was originally going to be portrayed by O. J. Simpson. But, according to James Cameron people wouldn't have believed a nice guy like O. J. playing the part of a ruthless killer.

This is also stated on the iMDB trivia page for the original movie, but as this is user created content is unverifiable on it's own; nor can I find any other concrete sources.
I find this slightly hard to swallow as it seems akin to a satirical article which might be on "theonion.com" .

So can anyone source any credible references to confirm or dipute this?

Thank you!

Answer 1

I had never heard that tale, so I cannot vouch for its validity

Answer 2

I think O J created this to try to acluminate the millions he spent in lawyers fees. Noone was intrested so he wrote a book that Fred Goldman & the publishing compnay tricked him into writing and the publish company and Fred has gotten the ownership and he has changed the title to" How i got away with a Double Murder"all in O J's own words ,damn what a piece of art and to beat it all O J thinks he can still outsmart Fred & everyone ,but hes so far behind he thinks hes ahead.

Answer 3

That sounds like a made-up-after-the-fact kind of phony tale. OJ had only played in comedies in those days so he was not even a candidate for a serious role.

Answer 4

Yes, but not just O.J! Even Randy Quaid and Chevy Chase were considered.......

Answer 5

Yes, he was considered but was seen as "too nice" to play a killer...oops

Answer 6

My friend told me this a long time ago, so it's older than the onion.

Answer 7

its true. they originally wanted him but then came to the conclusion that he wouldnt be believable as a cold hearted killer.

Answer 8

bishopguy's answer soooooooo funny!