GlobalArnold Meets Lance Henriksen!

It's been a while since we sat down and rubbed shoulders with the stars - the last time being in 2004 when GlobalArnold President Adrian Pavel interviewed T3 co-star Kristanna Loken.

Well this time it was my turn! Yesterday, I attended the Collector Mania Convention, at the G-Mex Center in Manchester. I took the day off work specially and even hauled my ass out of bed at 6am to make sure I was there in time to be the first person in the door at 9am!

Some of the bigger names in attendance were Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Heroes, Rob Zombie's Halloween), Craig Charles (Red Dwarf, Coronation Street) and Lance Henriksen (The Terminator, Aliens, AvP).

I booked tickets well in advance so was able to go into the early bird queue. Doors opened a little after 9am, and after presenting my ticket at the entrance, I went straight through to the central hall where I was faced with rows of stalls selling movie and nostalgic memorabilia.

Lance was yet to arrive, however I was advised he would be there between 10-11am, so I got my virtual queue ticket for his autograph line and then went around the stalls to look at all the cool (but VERY over-priced) Terminator and Predator merchandise!

After a short while I went back to check if Lance had arrived yet. As I was about to walk away to the toilets, a door opened, and out he came! Spectacular! I was striaght in there, the first person to see him. I must admit, I was a little nervous... so much so I dropped my iPod at his feet whilst I fumbled around in my bag to get out my Terminator DVD.

He shook my hand in a very friendly manner and was very receptive and seemed all around to be in a good mood. I told him that I was a big fan and a fan of Arnold also. He autographed an Aliens picture for me, and then I presented my Terminator: Special Edition DVD to see if he would sign that too. His assistant was a bit funny about it, but he just looked at her and said "well I'm gonna sign it anyway!" Awesome! He was even kind enough to pose for a photo with me, even though the line forming behind me was growing longer. I thanked him and said the line "How do I look? Like shit, boss!" to which he laughed and shook my hand again.

For a little while, I watched whilst Lance greeted other fans and posed for photos. I then took a little walk around to see which other stars had arrived. Malcolm McDowell was in, and his queue was in full swing, so I didn't bother joining that one.

After having some lunch I joined the queue for the photoshoot with Lance. Again, I had pre-booked my ticket for this, so had no problem with getting in. Whilst we were queueing, Lance walked past and asked us, "what are you all waiting for?" chuckling away.

The photo shoot went pretty smoothly, with Lance telling jokes and making funny faces whilst posing with people. As I walked up for my shot, he saw my Terminator t-shirt and said "The Terminator! You know, me and Arnold became good friends after making that movie. He's the Governor now you know!"

We posed, the camera clicked and off I went. After purchasing a few Arnold collectables, I sat down to take a rest and make a few phone calls. To my left there was a large black door, with a crew member in front. Craig Charles passed through this so I assumed it was a backstage area for the stars. After about another half an hour, Lance came through with his assistant and I managed to get another photo. This time he held a GlobalArnold banner for me! Cool stuff!

The one thing I noticed about Lance was how great he was towards his fans. As he walked through different areas, people approached him for autographs and photos and he was only happy to do them. He didn't ignore one person and had a smile on his face all day long.

Around 2.30pm, I picked up my photo from the session earlier on. It was time for one final trip to Lance's table. He looked up and smiled at me, commenting on how it was a good shot of us both. He personalised it with "Terminator Rocks!" and then told me how Jim Cameron wanted him back for T2, to be in a wheelchair, and be very angry and pissed off. He then joked that he would have had no problem at all being angry or pissed, at the amount Cameron would have paid him for it! But unfortunately, he had work commitments at the time and was unable to get a free slot for T2, so the idea was cut from project.

When I asked about working with Cameron, he told of how challenging it was making Aliens. "It just took so long!" he laughed. "But Jim's a really great guy and he knows exactly what he wants!"

He also said that if Arnold ever acted again, it would be a miracle. Apparently, Arnold does definitely want the Presidency but there's no way that the constitution will ever be changed. Lance said he'd support him 100% though if it were ever to happen, and he remarked on what a great guy Arnold is.

I thanked Lance one last time and told him that "I'll be back" next year!

That was my day done with. I'd met Lance (who was originally cast as the title role before Arnold came long!) and been brought one step closer to the Terminator Legacy, and of course, Arnold! A great day which I'll be beaming about for a while now.

Global Arnold Staff