Many of you might remember John Connors from the Terminator series who was played by a 12-year-old Edward Furlong. The child actor rose to fame with his role as John in Terminator 2: Judgment Day starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. But where is Edward today?
Edward Furlong’s Career Graph
Edward was first introduced to us in 1991 with Terminator 2: Judgment Day where he played a young boy named John Connors. The child actor was an instant hit with the audience and the critics with his performance in Terminator 2 which won him many awards. During his early days, Edward worked alongside many popular actors such as Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson in Before and After and Jeff Bridges in American Heart. His filmography also included Detroit Rock City, Pet Sematary Two, and American History X starring Edward Norton.
Even after a series of good films, Edward’s career hit a lull in the 2000s when he was hospitalised due to a suspected drug overdose. The 45-year-old also lost his role as John Connors in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines to Nick Stahl in 2003. He admitted and regretted being replaced in the movie due to his drug addiction. When he was out of rehab, Furlong started taking movie projects but hardly any of those saw the light of day. A lot of his movies were released straight to DVDs.
Legal Battles of Edward Furlong
In 2004, Furlong was arrested for public intoxication. In a 2006 interview with People magazine, Edward opened up about his addiction.
“I realized I was kind of turning into an E! True Hollywood Story.”
“I don’t even think about [partying] anymore. It seems lonely now: running and clubbing and doing coke. I have nightmares about doing hard drugs. I’ll wake up and I’m like, ‘Did I relapse?’”
He was later arrested multiple times in 2012 and 2013 for domestic abuse. In May 2013, the court sentenced Furlong to a five-year probation during which he was required to attend counselling for domestic violence and rehab for his drug addiction.
However, James Cameron reached out to Edward for his revival in the 2019 Terminator: Dark Fate. Cameron used CGI for the facial likeness of Edward’s John Connors with a CGI stand-in double played by Jude Collie. Edward Furlong was only involved for one day to capture his facial performance and the character was killed off in the opening scene.
What Is Edward Furlong Upto?
During the Days of Dead horror convention held in Chicago in 2019, Furlong was a panellist who was asked about his experience of working with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“I grew up watching Predator and Total Recall. I really looked up to Arnold throughout that whole movie. Out of all the actors I’ve worked with, he is an amazing role model. And I still look up to him. I really do,”
In another interview with Forbes, the 45-year-old talked about movies and how they’ve always been an escape for him.
“That’s what movies are, they’re an escape. Also, it’s supposed to be a freedom of expression. I think some of the greatest movies have come from people taking chances,”
Edward Furlong can often be spotted at film festivals where he hosts Q&As for fans and gives autographs. The Terminator actor has also stayed away from any sort of legal trouble. He is quite active on his social media and posts regular information about conventions he plans to attend.
However, the actor continues to do movie projects even today. According to IMDB, Furlong’s last releases in 2023 were The Heart of a Champion and The Forrest Hills. No matter how problematic or tumultuous Edward Furlong’s journey has been, it seems like the actor has come out of it strong.
