Edward Furlong was fired from Terminator 3 after an overdose

He got paid massive amounts of money for his efforts in T2 and then lost the role in the follow up due to a drug-related incident.
Text: Petter Hegevall
Published 2024-04-05

We all know how badly the casting in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was and how strange it feels that the character John Connor is suddenly played by Nick Stahl instead of T2 actor Ed Furlong. It felt absurd then, and even more absurd today as we look at this much-maligned sequel.

During a recent interview on Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast, Furlong reveals that he had signed on for the role and was due to receive nearly $50 million in compensation for his performance in Terminator 3, but lost the role because he celebrated the job by doing so many drugs that he overdosed on cocaine and ended up in hospital.

"I remember, literally, it was a sweet deal, it was the best deal that I had ever gotten in my life. It was like a lot of money. Millions, yeah millions. And I'd never made that kind of money. So, I called my friends and I'm like, 'guys, I just signed the fuckin awesome contract. We're gonna go to the club. We're gonna get a bunch of blow, and we're gonna fuckin that's it! This is the end man! We're gonna fuckin do it. People are standing around me. My buddy's like crying, he's holding me, and I'm like 'what happened?' And he's like dude you fu -kin' OD'd. And I'm like, 'I didn't OD, what are you talking about!?"

<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gu0aF8i7BE&t=299s</social>

Furlong was only 13 when T2 was filmed and of course did a brilliant job as a rebellious young John Connor.

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