Terminator: Judgment Day star Robert Patrick might well have scored one of the strangest feel-good moments of 2025 when his Peacemaker villain returned as an anti-Nazi variant on the DCU’s second season. But the real feel-good factor comes from Patrick’s continued presence on screens more than 30 years after the T-1000 role that made him. Part of that comes down to the actor’s clearly discerning eye for what he signs on for: recently, he’s been in top-tier TV like The Night Agent, Reacher, and Peacemaker, and his unbridled enthusiasm for his work always comes across when he’s interviewed.
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Patrick spoke recently with ComicBook’s Chris Killian in the wake of the Tulsa King finale – another prestige show he’s made his mark in – and his gratefulness for his career was palpable. Tulsa King is, of course, a vehicle for on-screen action royalty Sylvester Stallone, and the subject of a – now resolved – long-running “conflict” presented itself. We asked Patrick to detail the biggest difference he finds in working with Stallone and his Terminator co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger:
“Hmm, that’s a dangerous question to ask… You know, they’re two… I mean, it’s two different people you can’t really compare, that are both great guys in their own right, you know. Sly is more than just an actor: he’s a writer, he’s a painter, he’s creative. You know, he’s directed. So, you know, that sets him apart, I guess.
Trying to be very diplomatic here. I mean, Arnold is… Arnold is Arnold, and Arnold is a great guy. Sly is just another creative being. He’s… there’s a lot more than just “action star”. How’s that?… I don’t want to get myself in trouble with anybody, because I love them both, they’re great.”
Robert Patrick Confirms What Unites & Sets Schwarzenegger & Stallone Apart
Patrick also made sure to offer the context that the former “frenemies” are friends now, and in the spirit of positivity, offered the biggest similarities in working with both of the larger-than-life screen legends:
“I’ll tell you, the common thing they have is charisma. And they got buckets of it. The other common thing they have is confidence. And they both have buckets of that. And deservedly. And, I think that’s why they are who they are. I know, you know, they weren’t always best buddies.
You know, both are great guys. Sly – I’ve worked with him 3 times now, and I have a huge amount of respect for him as an artist. And he’s a really, really great guy. And I got a lot of respect for Arnold, as well. He’s a great guy, too.”
Very diplomatic, of course, but neither would have made it to their kind of career longevity – even with a political sabbatical without leaving a positive impact on their co-stars. Officially, Patrick and Schwarzenegger have only been in two movies together, but in a delightfully meta quirk, Patrick actually played the T-1000 in both: first in 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and then in a clever cameo in Last Action Hero, 2 years later.
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