Before the award-winning creature designer, Steve Wang, designed the look of the Predator that we all know and love, there was a much different version conceived with "backward bent reptilian legs, extended arms" and an insect-like facial sculpt. That original version of the monster didn't require a tall actor like Kevin Peter Hall, who played the final version of the monster, so they hired then-newcomer, Jean-Claude Van Damme ("The Quest"). In the video below, special effects guru, Steve Johnson, recounts the challenges the Muscles From Brussels encountered on his first big Hollywood production. There's also some rare footage of the
Sudden Death actor in the original monster suits.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this action-packed adventure story of fighting men pitted against an unseen enemy, a force more powerful than their fiercest weapons. Recruited by the CIA to rescue hostages held by guerrilla fighters in a Central American country, Schwarzenegger and his men encounter an enemy unimaginably more deadly than any on Earth - because the Predator is not of this Earth. Packed with spectacular special effects and combat scenes of gut-wrenching power, Predator is the most terrifying Schwarzenegger movie yet.
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall & Bill Duke
Director: John McTiernan * Writers: Jim Thomas, John Thomas