The acting business can be a harsh mistress, with many actors losing out on roles in the 11th hour. Actor Michael Biehn gave his perspective on this by revealing he'd spent nine months thinking he'd be in James Cameron’s Avatar.
"For nine months, I thought I was going to be playing the part Stephen Lang played in Avatar, and I ended up not getting it..." he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I'd been disappointed too many times to be depressed for more than 24 hours."
Biehn and Cameron have collaborated on numerous projects, including The Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss. Ironically, though, Biehn's history with Cameron might have been what cost him the role in Avatar. After Biehn's Aliens costar Sigourney Weaver was cast in the film, Cameron might not have wanted to feature two actors already associated with one another. That said, it's a little unclear from conflicting reports whether Cameron ever intended to cast Biehn in the first place, but Weaver's casting otherwise cemented any decision.
In Biehn's defense, he's also learned that a little patience can go a long way, especially when dealing with Cameron. "I wanted to play that role," he said of Aliens' Corporal Hicks. "I thought I'd done a pretty good job for Jim on The Terminator, so I thought why not? But it got back to me that Jim wanted to go in a different direction."
However, this time, fate would prove in Biehn's favor, as the original actor was fired a few weeks into filming, giving him another chance at the role. "I got that call on a Friday morning. Monday morning, I was on the set in full makeup and wardrobe."