Released in 1984, James Cameron's The Terminator turned a low-budget sci-fi thriller into one of cinema's most enduring and lucrative franchises. Built around Sarah Connor, her future son John and the nightmare of Skynet, the saga fused time travel, killer cyborgs and nuclear dread into a pop-culture juggernaut.
The franchise's legacy is everywhere, from "I'll be back" and "Hasta la vista, baby" to its special-effects breakthroughs and enduring grip on AI fears.
Read on to discover what the cast of the movies and TV series are worth today, based on wealth estimates from Celebrity Net Worth.
All dollar values in US dollars
Among the best-known names missing from Celebrity Net Worth are Courtney B Vance (pictured), who played Miles Dyson in 2015's Terminator Genisys, and veteran actor Bruce Davison, who appeared in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles series after decades of TV, film and stage work.
A number of other familiar franchise names are also absent, including key villains, Resistance figures, Cyberdyne staff and TV-series regulars.
Edward Furlong (pictured with Arnie) is the lowest-ranked Terminator star with a Celebrity Net Worth estimate.
The actor, who played young John Connor in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day, is listed at $100,000 (£75k). His early fame was enormous, but later legal and addiction problems badly affected his career.
Nick Stahl, who played the adult John Connor in 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, is down as having $200,000 (£149k).
Meanwhile, Thomas Dekker, who took on the role in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is worth $500,000 (£373k), Celebrity Net Worth says.
A wide array of franchise stars belong in the $1 million (£756k) to $5 million (£3.8m) wealth bracket.
Kristanna Loken (pictured), who played the deadly T-X in Rise of the Machines, has an estimated fortune of $1 million (£756k).
Jai Courtney, Kyle Reese in Genisys, is purportedly worth $3 million (£2.3m), $1 million (£756k) less than Michael Biehn, the original Kyle Reese.
Also in this range are Mackenzie Davis, Joe Morton, Summer Glau and Richard T Jones at $4 million (£3m), while Lance Henriksen, Michael Gladis and Stephanie Jacobsen are pegged at $5 million (£3.8m).
Others with fortunes in the lower millions include Diego Boneta and Jonathan Jackson.
Robert Patrick (pictured) is the standout name in this tier. The super-versatile actor played the liquid-metal T-1000 in Judgment Day, giving the franchise one of its most iconic villains and helping make the 1991 sequel a special-effects landmark.
Also listed at $6 million (£4.5m) are Jason Clarke, who played John Connor in Genisys, and Michael Ironside, who appeared in 2009's Terminator Salvation. Dean Winters and Owain Yeoman, both from The Sarah Connor Chronicles, round out this group.
Best known as David Silver in Beverly Hills, 90210, Brian Austin Green later joined The Sarah Connor Chronicles as Derek Reese, Kyle Reese's older brother and John Connor's uncle.
Derek began as a recurring character before becoming a series regular, giving Green one of the TV show's more important Resistance roles. The seasoned actor has also appeared in everything from Freddie and Desperate Housewives to Anger Management.
Matt Smith showed up in Genisys as Alex, the human face of Skynet, also linked to the Genisys operating system and the T-5000. His role was kept secret before the film's release, adding to speculation around the reboot's villain.
The English actor is far better known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who, followed by an Emmy-nominated turn as a young Prince Philip in The Crown and his later role as Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
Anton Yelchin was worth an estimated $10 million (£7.6m) at the time he passed away in 2016. The Russian-American actor played a young Kyle Reese in Salvation, taking on the future Resistance fighter who would later travel back to protect Sarah Connor and father John Connor.
Yelchin won legions of fans playing Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot films, and built a strong career across indie dramas, horror and voice work before his death in a tragic driveway accident aged just 27.
Before her biggest payday arrived, Lena Headey portrayed the eponymous heroine in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, leading the TV spin-off for 31 episodes between 2008 and 2009.
Headey's fortune was transformed by Game of Thrones. Stealing scenes as the deliciously evil Cersei Lannister, the Bermuda-born star reportedly pulled in pre-tax earnings topping $30 million (£22.7m) over the hit show's eight-year run.
In Judgment Day, S Epatha Merkerson played Tarissa Dyson, wife of Cyberdyne engineer Miles Dyson, whose work becomes crucial to Skynet's creation and Sarah Connor's desperate attempt to stop the future war.
Merkerson's fortune comes largely from her long TV career. She's best known as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren in Law & Order, appearing across the franchise for 17 seasons, and later joined the Chicago shows as Sharon Goodwin.
The Scottish star made her name as Garbage's frontwoman before joining The Sarah Connor Chronicles in season two as Catherine Weaver, a tech company CEO who is actually a liquid-metal T-1001.
It was Manson's first major acting role outside music. Her fortune is mostly courtesy of Garbage. The rock band has sold millions with hits such as Stupid Girl and Only Happy When It Rains, while Version 2.0 earned Grammy nominations.
Like Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke became a household name through Game of Thrones, playing Daenerys Targaryen. And her total earnings from the HBO show also likely topped $30 million (£22.7m) before taxes.
In the Terminator universe, Clarke took over the role of Sarah Connor in Genisys. Away from dragons and Skynet, her film credits include Solo: A Star Wars Story, Me Before You and Last Christmas, giving her a career that stretches across sci-fi, fantasy, romance and comedy.
In Genisys, J K Simmons appeared as Detective O'Brien, a weary cop who encounters the T-1000 in 1984 and spends decades haunted by the time-travel chaos around Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese.
Simmons' wider career explains his sizeable fortune. He won an Oscar for Whiplash, became a fan favourite as J Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and built a huge TV CV with Oz, Law & Order and The Closer.
He's also noted for his voice work, Broadway parts and long-running Farmers Insurance commercials.
Lee Byung-hun brought the T-1000 back to the franchise in Genisys, following Robert Patrick's iconic take on the liquid-metal villain in Judgment Day.
Lee has forged a stellar career in Korean cinema as well as Hollywood. His long list of credits includes A Bittersweet Life and Masquerade at home, while US audiences know him from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Magnificent Seven and Squid Game.
Bill Paxton was worth an estimated $25 million (£18.9m) at the time of his death in 2017. His Terminator role was brief but memorable: Johnny, the blue-haired punk confronted by the T-800 in the 1984 original.
The Texas-born actor became one of James Cameron's regular collaborators, with Aliens, True Lies and Titanic among his most prestigious credits. He also appeared in Weird Science, Twister and Apollo 13, among numerous other classics.
Salvation brought Bryce Dallas Howard into the franchise as Kate Brewster, John Connor's wife and a key future Resistance figure, opposite Christian Bale.
The daughter of actor-turned-filmmaker Ron Howard, she broke through with The Village before taking on major roles in Spider-Man 3, The Help and the Jurassic World trilogy.
Following in her father's footsteps, Howard has also moved behind the camera, directing the documentary Dads, and episodes of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Before Bryce Dallas Howard inherited the role in Salvation, Claire Danes introduced Kate Brewster in Rise of the Machines. The character starts as a veterinary surgeon caught in Skynet's latest attack, before becoming John Connor's future wife and a key Resistance figure.
Danes broke through in the 1990s with My So-Called Life and Romeo + Juliet, then added films including The Rainmaker, The Hours and Stardust. Her biggest TV money came later with Homeland, where her salary reportedly rose to $450,000 (£340k) per episode, around $5.5 million (£4.2m) per season.
Common arrived in Salvation as Barnes, one of John Connor's fighters in the war against Skynet.
Born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr, he first built his fortune through hip-hop, with acclaimed albums including Like Water for Chocolate and Be, plus Grammy wins for Love of My Life and Southside.
Acting then opened another lane, from Smokin' Aces and American Gangster to Selma, where he co-wrote the Oscar-winning song Glory with John Legend.
Salvation gave Helena Bonham Carter one of the franchise's stranger villain roles: Dr Serena Kogan, a Cyberdyne geneticist whose image is later used by Skynet to manipulate Marcus Wright.
Early on, Bonham Carter was mainly associated with period dramas, but she pushed far beyond that label. Fight Club, Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and The King's Speech showed her range across cult drama, fantasy, gothic comedy and prestige film, making her one of the most versatile stars in this ranking.
James Cameron helped steer Sam Worthington toward Salvation after directing him in 2009's Avatar, and the UK-born Australian actor took on one of the film's central roles: Marcus Wright, a death row prisoner turned human-machine hybrid.
Avatar was Worthington's global breakthrough. And he has since reprised the key role of Jake Sully for the sequel era, while Clash of the Titans, Hacksaw Ridge and Call of Duty voice work have added further action, drama, and gaming credits to his résumé.
As Sarah Connor, Linda Hamilton created one of cinema's defining action heroines. She originated the role in The Terminator, returned transformed in Judgment Day, later provided voice work for Salvation, and came back onscreen for Dark Fate.
Hamilton's other major credits include Beauty and the Beast, Children of the Corn, and Dante's Peak. Her finances have also been shaped by her marriage to James Cameron.
The pair married in 1997 and divorced in 1999, with Hamilton walking away with a $50 million (£37.8m) settlement.
Christian Bale landed the role of John Connor in Salvation, but it was hardly a happy franchise detour. The Oscar-winning actor later said he had turned the film down three times, felt there was "no story there" and had "enormous regrets" about how the project turned out.
The shoot also became notorious when audio leaked of Bale angrily berating cinematographer Shane Hurlbut on set, a rant he later publicly apologised for.
Still, the English actor's Terminator pay deal was substantial, reportedly worth $8 million (£6m), while The Dark Knight trilogy, The Fighter and American Hustle helped lift his fortune to $120 million (£90.9m).
No one else in the Terminator ranking comes close to Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Austrian-born star originated the T-800 in The Terminator, turned the machine into a hero in Judgment Day, and has remained the franchise's defining face.
The movies paid spectacularly well, including a reported $12 million (£9.1m) for Judgment Day and as much as $110 million (£83.1m) for Rise of the Machines. Yet Schwarzenegger's wealth goes far beyond Hollywood, with bodybuilding fame, property, business investments and two terms as governor of California all feeding into one of entertainment's biggest fortunes.
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