Where Are They Now? The Cast of Predator

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It’s hard to believe, but Predator was released over 20 years ago.  I don’t know that it’s my favorite movie, but for a long time it was, and I still consider it to be a perfect blend of action and sci-fi.  Along with Die Hard – also directed by John McTiernan – Predator impacted me more than any other movie from the 1980s.  Predator still holds up well today: the straightforward yet clever story, the mystery of the alien itself (which has since been butchered), the special effects (powered by the legendary Stan Winston), Alan Silvestri’s ominous score, and last but certainly not least, the cast.

One of the things that I love about Predator is that the alien isn’t killing a bunch of average Joes.  Instead, he’s ripping the spines out of some of the baddest, biggest, meanest dudes on Earth, all equipped with top-of-the-line military firepower.  Many of the movie’s cast members went on to have some pretty remarkable careers, some of which were completely outside the realm of film.  I decided to see what the cast of Predator has been up to over the past 20+ years.  Keep reading to find out.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch

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Arnie starred in Predator during the beginning of his “prime” years and of course went on to star in gigantic action flicks.  His film career has been on hiatus since around 2003 when he entered politics and eventually became Governor of California.  Arnie enjoyed being in Predator so much that he married an actual Predator alien:

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Carl Weathers as Dillon

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After a really crappy action movie – looking directly at you, Action Jackson-and some forgettable roles, Weathers tried and succeeded at comedy, playing Chubbs in Happy Gilmore.  He doesn’t act much anymore, save for a few television appearances and some web ads for Credit Union.  It should be noted that his did appear on Arrested Development, showing that his comedy chops in Happy Gilmore were no fluke.  I am dedicating this post to Chubbs.

Bill Duke as Mac

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Bill Duke was one of the coolest dudes alive before Predator, and is still a cool dude today.  Duke continued to act, as well as get behind the camera to direct.  He directed Deep Cover in 1992, which gives him more street cred than just about anyone considering Dre and Snoop did a song for the soundtrack about slangin’ dope and killing cops.  And yeah, I know he directed Sister Act 2, but the man was getting paid.  He’s come a long way from breaking a disposable razor over his face in the jungle.  Duke has more recently appeared on Lost and Battlestar Galactica.

Jesse Ventura as Blain

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Just like Arnie, Ventura went into politics following his acting career (and time as a radio call-in show host).  First he became mayor of Brooklyn Park; later, Governor of Minnesota.  Ventura has been very busy since then, hosting television shows, appearing at WWE events, becoming the spokesperson for an online betting service, and writing books.  He’s taken a very strong anti-torture stance over the past several years and has been one of Dick Cheney’s more vocal critics.  I’d love to see them in a steel cage match.

Sonny Landham as Billy

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Sonny Landham is out of his mind.  Like, Ultimate Warrior, late James Brown crazy.  Sonny had a real bad child custody battle with his ex-wife and was convicted of making threatening phone calls.  On appeal, his conviction was overturned.  I’m not down with threatening phone calls.  Heavy breathing at 4:00 a.m. I’m all over, but no threats.  Gotta keep it classy.  Anyway, Sonny later decided to get into politics (a common theme amongst Predator castmates).  He ran for Governor of Kentucky and failed, and later ran for U.S. Senate.  His party withdrew their nomination when he took out a knife and ran it across his own torso following a campaign speech.  Or maybe because he made some rather hateful comments about Arabs; I can’t remember for sure.

Richard Chaves as Poncho

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Chaves did a lot of television after Predator, including a recurring role on “War of the Worlds.”  According to wikipedia, Chaves was stalked in the late 1990s.  Look, I like Richard Chaves and all, but really?  Of all the guys in Predator, wouldn’t you say he’s the least likely to be stalked.  I’ve stalked many a person, and Chaves just doesn’t fit the profile.  Anyhow, he recently played the role of a detective in Dark House.

Shane Black as Hawkins

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Black isn’t really much on an actor – did you know he’s a successful screenwriter and has also directed a movie?  He wrote Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and The Last Action Hero, all very good scripts.  He wrote and directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, an incredibly clever and underrated movie.   I’m impressed.  It hasn’t been all roses for Black since Predator, though: he and an ex-girlfriend sued each other for battery.

Kevin Peter Hall as The Predator (and Helicopter Pilot)

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After Predator Hall played a different alien Predator in the movie’s sequel, and later, the bigfoot Harry in the Harry and the Hendersons TV show.  Sadly, Hall contracted HIV, which developed into AIDS, and died in 1991.  Hall helped create, to me, one of the most memorable movie villains of all time, alien or otherwise.  I love Predator so much in no small part because of the creature itself, and Hall deserves all the credit in the world for dominating the screen even amongst the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura.

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15 Comments

  1. Even though it was before Predator, I’m suprised you didn’t mention Carl Weather’s most memorable role….Apollo Creed.

    Cool list, I didn’t realize “Hawkins” was the writer behind The Last Boy Scout. One of my favourite films as a teenager. Man, I must have watch that movie at lest 20 times.

  2. @ IcemanD

    Carl Weathers and Apollo Creed are just about interchangeable to me. I often refer to Weathers as Apollo.

    Yeah, I have a mini man crush on Shane Black (Hawkins)…guy is crazy talented and creative.

  3. Carl Weathers on Arrested Development was great. The fact that he was always scraping for money and any type of loophole was hilarious. And making stew out of a ham bone.

    I didn’t put 2 and 2 together to realize that Shane Black was the one who directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and was in Predator. That is one of my favorite movies, and I totally agree that it was underrated. Val Kilmer had too many good one-liners. Gay Perry.

  4. @ Laura

    Just from Predator, Black struck me as a funny guy: he was able to deliver bad jokes in a way that made you have to laugh at them. It seems his sense of humor carried over real well.

  5. @ Postmark

    Pretty cool, huh? It’s not quite as impressive as becoming Governor, I guess, but still, it’s pretty sick.

    Shane Black: easily the most underrated cast member from Predator.

  6. I knew Shane Black wrote Lethal Weapon and the others, but I never realized that it was the same Shane Black from Predator. Awesome! His interviews on the Special Edition DVD of Predator are the funniest on the disc, too.

  7. Carl Weathers is a class act! The fact that he speaks smart and intelligently is a huge credit to the movie industry. More minute in fact is that he has a huge stage presence, incredible physical presence and can go toe toe with the best with sheer camera appeal. If it weren’t for Arnold and his impressive Olympia wins – Carl Weathers would have been the biggest star in this film!

  8. You’re wrong about sonny, he never committed any crime, his wife got some kind of mental illness, and made up strange stories like those phone calls and shit, sonny never did anything wrong. God I feel sorry for him, sitting in jail for three years because of something he never did, horrible, just horrible. I’m praying for him.

  9. Sony Landham’s nomination (by the Libertarians) was pulled when he called for Genocide of the arabs and called them “rag heads”…from wikipedia:
    On June 25, 2008, Landham announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mitch McConnell on the Libertarian line.[5] The same day Landham called for genocide against Arabs and referred to them as “ragheads”. His comments were made on the political radio show The Weekly Filibuster.[6] Three days later, on June 28, the Kentucky Libertarians voted unanimously to withdraw Landham’s nomination, citing his comments were not in keeping with the party’s platform and values.[7]

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