Could W.A.S.P. vocalist Blackie Lawless have been a box office star? Though we’ll never know the answer to that, the musician did recently reveal to Talk Is Jericho host Chris Jericho that he was asked to audition for two blockbuster hit films back in the ’80s and ’90s. So what roles could he have potentially landed?
Why Blackie Lawless Terminated a Potential Iconic Film Role
During the chat with Jericho, the singer was asked if he ever considered branching out into the acting world and he confirmed that back in the ’80s and ’90s he was actually sought for “a bunch of stuff,” but ultimately decided to stay on his music path.
One of the roles that he was considered for was the now iconic T-1000 role that went to actor Robert Patrick in Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s hit blockbuster sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
“I got offered the Terminator part in Terminator 2. It was funny cause I ran into Robert Patrick about a year after the movie came out,” recalled Lawless.
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He continued, “The original script, which I still have, was a guy that was more of a barbarian. They were going a totally different way and apparently it was either Schwarzenegger or [director James] Cameron who had seen me in something and ‘He’s the guy.'”
“I had just started making [1992’s] The Crimson Idol. And I had just built that studio so I had my new shiny toy and I’m interested and I got this record that I think is good. I like the story. So my head was totally into that,” Lawless said of his mindset at the time.
But that didn’t stop representatives from the film to reach out to him about potentially auditioning. “They pull up on a Friday afternoon and they were like, ‘They’d like you to come down and read. Would you be interested in doing this?’ ‘Not really.’ They said, ‘Well did you see the first movie?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ They said, ‘Did you like it?’ I said, ‘Not really,” recalled Lawless. “This goes on all afternoon and we go back and forth with phone calls and finally they said to me, ‘Well, you know the first movie made 100 million.’ And back then, that was a lot of money. So I was like, ‘Yeah, we’ll get back to you.'”
The singer says, “I started thinking about it and I’m like, ‘Well, I just built this studio and I want to make this record and if I go do that, this is all going to go get put on the shelf.’ But let’s be honest, I’ve got buddies of mine that are big name movie stars. There’s nothing like being in a big hit movie. It’s pretty sexy. So I think, ‘Well, maybe.'”
But ultimately he sunk his own chances with one question. “I call them back. And I started thinking too, I’ve been to a couple of parties where Arnold was there. He’s a little sensitive about his height. So I said to them, ‘Does he know how tall I am?’ They said, ‘No. How tall are you?’ I said, ‘6’ 4″‘ And there was just silence on the phone and they said, ‘We’ll get back to you.'”
What Else Did Blackie Lawless Turn Down?
Within the discussion, Lawless revealed another movie role that he was once considered for. This came years earlier for the Eddie Murphy–Nick Nolte action-comedy 48 Hours.
According to Lawless, there was interest in him for the role of Billy Bear, one of Murphy’s convict cohorts that plays a pivotal supporting role in the movie. The singer says they were interested in his look as they wanted to cast a Native American in the role that eventually went to actor Sonny Landham.
“I didn’t think the script was that good to be honest. So I passed on that and I passed on a couple of other things because most of the time they were looking for axe murderers. I don’t want to be an axe murderer,” added Lawless.
Blackie Lawless on What Could Have Been
“I’ve thought about it many times over the years. If I would’ve done that and it ends up being a big hit movie, it would have changed my career,” said the singer. “My buddies, like I said, who are actors and had big time success, a lot of times their phone doesn’t ring for two years. The ego thing of being in a big hit movie that’s a shiny thing they dangle in front of you and there is the attraction to that, but I made the right decision.”
“I’ve been very leery of movies over the years cause I’ve seen a lot of music guys get into that and it totally derailed their careers. So I’ve always aired on the side of caution to did I miss out on a few things? Yes, I did. But I still feel that I made the right decisions. I’m a musician. I’m not an actor.”
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Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, Loudwire
