Predator: Where are they now?

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch. When Predator was released in 1987 Arnold was a year into his marriage to TV journalist Maria Shriver.  Between then and now Arnold went on to star in 27 more movies, had four kids, wrote a book, tweeted about Sarah Palin, was the Governor (R) of California from 2003 to 2011, had a love child with his live-in nanny, got divorced, and is gunning for a comeback. If all goes well for Arnold he’ll be the first non-native American to be President of the U.S.

Carl Weathers as Dillon. In 1988, Weathers landed a starring role in Action Jackson. He worked on my favorite Vietnam show Tour of Duty until 1990, landed a few TV movie gigs, starred in a pair of Hulk Hogan flicks, some Bud Light commercials, and played Chubbs Peterson, in Happy Gilmore. And, let’s not forget his role in Arrested Development in 2007 where he played himself. Brilliant! A final FYI, according to IMDb he’s also “assisting the US Military with simulated Iraqi villages at Fort Irwin, California.”

Elpidia Carrillo as Anna. Even though she did a better job in Salvador alongside James Woods, she rocked her three lines in Predator. She did a lot of work in movies you probably never heard of, appeared in the CBS show The Mentalist in 2008, and had a small part in Seven Pounds with Will Smith in the same year. Truth be told, she hasn’t done much of anything since Predator. Too bad.

Bill Duke as Mac. Prior to Predator, Duke starred with Arnold in Commando. Since his Mac role he’s been fairly quiet. Working with Weathers on Action Jackson, playing the lead villain in Sister Act, and later directing the sequel, Sister Act 2. While his acting career isn’t over, Duke spends most of his time behind the camera and in front of aspiring African-American film students.

Jesse Ventura as Blain. Ventura, a former wrestler turned actor, was elected mayor of some po-dunk Minnesota town in 1990, and eventually as Governor of Minnesota under the Reform Party ticket. He worked on Batman & Robin with Arnold in 1997 and has pretty much fallen off the Hollywood radar since then. Nowadays he’s a political activist and conspiracy theorist so it’s doubtful that he’ll have time for another action role; especially considering his desire to land a White House position as el Presidente.

Sonny Landham as Billy. Frankly, whenever I see Billy I wanna yell “Inekchok!” But he has nothing to do with Apache Chief. After Predator Landham starred with Sly in Lock Up and with Weathers in Action Jackson. He tried to go the Arnold/Jesse route, but bailed on his campaign for Governor of Kentucky. Now he’s interested in a U.S. Senate position under the Libertarian Party for the same state. And, he’s also a do-gooder. So, if you’ve money to spare you can donate to his aptly named Sonny Landham Foundation.

Richard Chaves as Poncho. Chaves did a lot of TV and film after Predator. I first recognized his face in an episode of MacGyver though he’s been in Walker, Texas Ranger, Star Trek: Voyager, and a bunch of others as well. While he never hit it big time, he seems to be doing OK for himself.

Shane Black as Hawkins. In Predator, Shane Black was the first to go. Perhaps this was because his character was the biggest wuss, or because the then 22-year-old had to get back to writing The Monster Squad and Lethal Weapon. Yep, 1987 was a busy year for Black. In the years to follow he wrote The Last Boy Scout, LW2, 3, & 4, and another Arnold movie, Last Action Hero. He’s been off the main stream grid since 2007, but keeps active with documentary shorts about action films.

Kevin Peter Hall as the Predator. Being 7’2″ Hall was cast in, well, tall roles.He was the sasquatch in Harry and the Hendersons, played a tall guy named Big John in Big Top Pee-wee, did some TV work, and eventually played the Predator in Predator 2 in 1990. Sadly, Hall contracted HIV from a contaminated blood transfusion and died from pneumonia in 1991. He was 35.