As the blockbuster hit Terminator 2: Judgment Day celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and prepares for re-release in Aussie cinemas on September 3, its cast reunited for a special event in the UK.
Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn and Robert Patrick – who played the T-1000 machine in the 1991 sequel – hit the stage at the For The Love of Fantasy And Sci-Fi convention at the ExCeL London.
While its main star Arnold Schwarzenegger was not in attendance, there was another cast member in the mix who appeared at the event, although he almost went unrecognised.
Edward Furlong – who rose to fame in the movie as John Connor, the son of Hamilton’s character Sarah Connor – looked unlike the rising star we remember from the film as he made a rare appearance on the panel.
Now 49 years old, Furlong walked onto the stage in a black T‑shirt under a black jacket and brown trousers to reunite with his onscreen parents, Hamilton, 69, and Biehn, 70.
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Diehard fans would know that Biehn filmed a dream scene in the sequel as John’s father Kyle Reese, a soldier from the future. The footage wound up on the cutting room floor for the theatrical release, but was restored in the home video releases.
“Skynet definitely didn’t have this reunion in the original programming,” Patrick, 67, captioned a photo of the foursome on Instagram. “T2 family back together.”
The internet did a double take when photos of Furlong at the event made the rounds on social media.
“That couldn’t be Edward Furlong …,” one tweeted on X, as another wrote, “could pass Edward Furlong on the street and not recognise him.”
“I really thought Edward Furlong was on track to be the next biggest star in Hollywood after T2. EF then was just dazzling!” another commented, as one wondered, “What could of been if Edward furlong just locked in.”
Furlong was only 13 when he was cast in the James Cameron-directed sci-fi, which won the young star an MTV Movie Award in 1992 for Best Breakthrough Performance. He would go on to star in movies such as American History X, Pet Sematary Two and Detroit Rock City.
However, Furlong soon found himself caught up in the dark side of Hollywood with his well-documented addictions getting him fired from the third film, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, in 2000.
“When I lost Terminator 3. Oh my God, dude. So much drugs in my life,” Furlong admitted in 2024 on the Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum podcast. “That was the contract: They were like, ‘We want you to not do any drugs.’ Whatever, just sign a clause in the contract, no drugs. And it was a sweet deal. It was the best deal that I had ever gotten in my life.”
“For T3, it was like a lot of money, like millions. And I had never made that kind of money. So I called my friends, and I’m like, ‘Guys, I just signed this f***ing awesome contract, we’re going to go to the club, we’re going to get a bunch of blow.’”
Furlong made headlines that night when he reportedly overdosed on cocaine and collapsed on the floor of a nightclub.
“The news caught wind,” he continued in the podcast. “And of course, [the studio was] like, ‘Yeah, you know, you lost the movie. We’re not going to do it with you.’ That was it. And I was like, ‘I’m so sorry, oh my God,’ but it didn’t matter … I had just signed a contract saying that.”
In February 2025, the actor announced that he had been sober for seven years after struggling with relapses and brushes with the law since his first rehab stint in 2000.
“I never really thought this was possible,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “Life still has been hard sometimes. But the new tools I keep adding to my arsenal make me a stronger more reliable person. I am able to be the support people need instead of their worry. I’m facing my life head on. No longer running away.”
“I am very grateful to be sober today. If you’re still struggling, please know you are worth fighting for. I used to live life in fear. I despised myself,” he candidly shared.
“But I actually never really took the time to get to know myself. And there has been so much that has been worth discovering. I love you all.”