Sunday, Novemat the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, IL Photo by Barry Brecheisenįurlong’s part in Dark Fate isn’t a big one. Especially if you don’t really have any parents,” the actor told Forbes.Īctor Edward Furlong discusses his role in the Terminator franchise during a Days of the Dead panel. It’s insane for a little kid to get that much power. “Early career, I remember it was crazy to me. And I wasn’t really able to process it,” said Furlong, now 42, on stage during Days of the Dead. I was a kid who had a lot happening all at once. I’m still coming to grips with the shock and awe of it all… I got into things that weren’t good for me - for a long time. So did a troubling pattern of domestic violence allegations against the actor which landed him a jail sentence in 2013, cementing another child actor cautionary tale. Furlong never finished high school and his foster parents accused a 29-year-old on set stand-in and tutor of statutory rape (it was never prosecuted).ĭrug and alcohol abuse followed, as did rehab. The actor came from a broken home without a father, was fostered for a time by an aunt and uncle and ultimately sued for emancipation following the breakout success of his debut role. But he was dealt a difficult hand before his career even began. With no prior acting experience, Furlong famously auditioned for T2 after a chance meeting with a casting director at a California boys and girls club. To get it back in the long run was good.”įollowing brisk work in 1998 on films like Pecker, with director John Waters, and a co-starring role in the critically acclaimed race drama American History X, the actor’s career has yet to fully rebound from the work his behavior has cost him. “So it’s a very close thing to me and it was a little bittersweet doing it. And I’ve been making a living because of that,” Furlong continued, noting the part he began filming at the age of just 13. “But John Connor is what changed my life. “I have never even seen the other ones after that,” he said of the three Terminator movies he didn’t appear in following T2. On stage in Chicago, Furlong said he went out to celebrate getting the T3 role but word of his antics got back to the studio, causing him to lose the part. And that always really bummed me out,” Furlong admitted of the circumstances which led to his losing the T3 role that would ultimately be given to actor Nick Stahl instead.