Paxton and Henriksen: The Terminator, Alien, and Predator Death Trifecta

If you were a kid in the 1980s with a love of science fiction and action films, you had it made. The combined awesomeness of the Alien, Predator, and Terminator franchises constituted the best run of bad-ass sf action to date, and all four are still bringing in money in some way or another.

Director James Cameron had at least a minor contribution to each franchise (he suggested Stan Winston add mandibles to the Predator creature design), and directed the first two Terminator films and Aliens. Since Cameron pretty much made the careers of Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen, it’s no surprise they had roles in several of these movies. But both actors also share a very special distinction–they’ve both been killed by a Terminator, an Alien, and a Predator.

Let’s start with Paxton. Paxton’s death by Terminator came in a tiny role in the first film, where he plays a punk who gets waxed by a butt-naked Arnold Schwarzenegger. Obviously, his role is much larger in Aliens, where he plays Private “Game over, man!” Hudson, who is dragged to his untimely doom when Aliens rip open the floor beneath him. Finally, in Predator 2, Paxton plays a cocky Los Angeles detective who gets gutted by a Predator.

The Terminator

Aliens

Unfortunately I could not find a video of his Predator 2 death scene.

Then there’s Lance Henriksen. Henriksen’s Terminator death likewise comes in the first film, where he’s ignominiously gunned down by Arnold during the police station shoot-out. In Aliens, he’s not technically killed when he’s ripped in half by the Queen Alien, because he’s an android and can’t be killed, but I think it’s close enough. Finally, it wasn’t until 2004’s Alien vs. Predator that Henriksen’s Weyland was done in by a Predator.

Terminator

Aliens

All I could find was a scene of the aftermath:

Alien vs. Predator

Again, I couldn’t find a video of this scene. Apparently death-by-Predator isn’t memorable unless you’re a super-sweaty, ‘roided-up soldier in the Central American jungle.

On a side note, both Paxton and Henriksen were also (indirectly) killed by Adrian “Nathan Petrelli” Pasdar’s character in Near Dark. Which, let’s face it, is kind of lame.

Note: this post was updated (with new video links to replace the dead ones) on 4/25/13.