The T-1000 is a fictional machine in the Terminator franchise. The first T-1000 was the main antagonist in the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, portrayed by American actor Robert Patrick in what was his breakout role. Patrick briefly reprised the role for T2-3D: Battle Across Time, a 1996 theme park attraction. Another T-1000 is present in the 2015 film Terminator Genisys, a reboot of the series, with South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun in the role.
In the franchise, the T-1000 is a Terminator, a line of android assassins created by the artificial intelligence Skynet. In the future, Skynet is engaged in a war against humans, who are led by John Connor. In Terminator 2, the T-1000 is sent back in time to kill John while he is ten years old. The T-1000 is made up of a liquid metal, known in the film as mimetic polyalloy, which allows it to shapeshift into other people or objects that come into contact with it. The shapeshifting abilities have also been reused for subsequent machines in the Terminator franchise, including the T-X, the T-1001, and the Rev-9.
The liquid metal effects for T-1000 were created through computer-generated imagery by Industrial Light & Magic, and practical effects by Stan Winston. The character, including Patrick's performance and the visual effects required to depict it, were praised by critics. Since then, the T-1000 has been parodied or referenced in other media.
Abilities Shapeshifting In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the T-1000 is established as an advanced Terminator prototype. It is more sophisticated than the T-800, which consists of living human tissue over a metal endoskeleton. By contrast, the T-1000 is entirely made up of a liquid metal, known in the film as mimetic polyalloy, rendering it capable of shapeshifting and near-perfect mimicry of people and objects that come into contact with it. Although it possesses a default humanoid shape, it can assume alternative forms to fit through narrow openings. It can morph its arms into solid metal tools or bladed weapons, and flatten itself and imitate the pattern and texture of the ground to hide or to ambush targets.Scifiscripts.com
The T-1000 can change its surface color and texture to convincingly simulate flesh, clothing, and other nonmetallic materials, but its morphing abilities are limited. It cannot transform into complex machines with moving parts or chemical fuels (such as guns or bombs), limiting it to stabbing weapons, and its volume prevents it from taking the form of a smaller object like a pack of cigarettes. It is capable of impersonating people larger than itself. Any pieces of its body that are broken off will liquefy and merge with the bulk of the T-1000 when it gets close enough.
The T-1000's abilities are further explained in the prologue of the film's novelization, which states that the machine is a "nanomorph" created through nanotechnology, able to scan the molecular structure of whatever it is touching and visually mimic it. At one point in the film, the T-1000 mimics an obese security guard, which "strained its ability" according to the novelization.Terminator 2: Judgment Day by Randall Frakes, James Cameron, and William Wisher (June 1, 1991)()
The T-1000's liquid metal allows the machine to recover quickly from damage, but is prone to malfunction after being frozen, as shown in the film's Special Edition DVD release. It is also susceptible to chemical damage, as shown in Terminator Genisys. In the latter film, it is also shown that the T-1000 can repair other Terminators by infusing them with liquid metal. It can also use its own body to form independent weapons and gadgets, such as a spear or a tracking device.
Other Terminators, including the T-X and the Rev-9, have an endoskeleton but, like the T-1000, also possess liquid metal and the shapeshifting ability. The latter features are also shared with the T-1001, which appears in the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–09).
Others Besides its physical appearance, the T-1000 is also capable of accurately mimicking voices, including the ability to extrapolate a relatively small voice sample to generate a wider array of words or inflections as required. The T-1000 is able to pass as human, possessing a larger repertoire of behavioral expression and interpersonal skills than earlier Terminator models.In Terminator 2, examples of the T-1000's emotional expression include the following: It spares a brief moment of bemusement after seeing a clothing store mannequin that resembles its liquid metal form. It looks shocked when its arm breaks off due to being frozen with liquid nitrogen. It displays frustration and anger towards the T-800 when it thwarts its attempt to force Sarah to call John out of hiding. It wags its finger in a "tsk-tsk" gesture at Sarah after she fails to destroy it in the steel mill. It gives a brief look of shock after the T-800 shoots a grenade into its stomach, and it writhes in agony after falling into a vat of molten steel. The same is shown in Genisys, when the T-1000 frantically struggles to avoid hydrochloric acid, which ultimately destroys it. It is apparently capable of espionage and detective skills, as it often attempts to accomplish its goals by subterfuge instead of brute force and extreme violence like the T-800. In Terminator 2, it primarily disguises itself as a police officer, allowing it to gain trust, access information, and provide a benign, friendly appearance. The T-1000 is an exceptionally fast runner. Like all Terminators, it also possesses superhuman strength, greater than that of the T-800, despite its more-slender frame and smaller stature.
Appearances Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the T-1000 (portrayed by Robert Patrick) is sent back in time by Skynet, an artificial intelligence, to kill young John Connor (Edward Furlong). In the future, Connor leads the Human Resistance in a war against Skynet and its machines.
Upon arriving in the past, the T-1000 ambushes an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and takes on his identity, tracking down John through the police cruiser's on-board computer and eventually locating him in a shopping mall. A T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), sent by the Resistance to protect John, shows up in time to stop the T-1000. Following a brief scuffle and a lengthy truck chase, the T-800 and John escape from the T-1000.
The T-1000 visits John's home; kills and impersonates his foster mother, Janelle Voight (Jenette Goldstein); then kills her husband Todd (Xander Berkeley) when John calls home to warn them. The T-800 confirms that the Voights are dead by tricking the T-1000 into incorrectly naming John's dog.
At a mental hospital, the T-800 helps John rescue his institutionalized mother, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), before the T-1000 can kill and copy her. After tracking the Connors and the T-800 to Cyberdyne Systems headquarters, it gives chase and crashes a truck carrying liquid nitrogen into a steel mill. The T-1000 is frozen solid by the leaking liquid nitrogen, allowing the T-800 to shatter it with a single pistol round, although the pieces are soon thawed by the heat of the steel mill. Extended versions of the film released on home video include scenes that depict the T-1000 developing a glitch in its mimicry abilities after being frozen/shattered/thawed. At times, its hands and feet briefly adhere to whatever it is touching and take on the appearance of those objects.
After the T-1000 reforms, the T-800 engages it in hand-to-hand combat, buying time for Sarah and John to flee, and the melee ends with the T-1000 impaling the T-800 through the chest and destroying its main power source. The T-1000 then continues the hunt for John, unaware that the T-800 has activated a backup power system.
Having briefly made contact with Sarah earlier by stabbing her through the shoulder, the T-1000 copies her appearance and voice and lures John to itself. The real Sarah arrives to stop it, driving it back with several shotgun blasts, and the T-800 then fires a round from an M79 grenade launcher into its chest. The ensuing detonation badly deforms the T-1000, throwing it off balance: it ultimately topples off a catwalk and falls into a vat of molten steel, where it melts and dissolves.
Terminator Genisys (2015) A T-1000, with a different default human appearance, is featured briefly in Terminator Genisys, a reboot of the film series. It is revealed that Skynet sent the T-1000 to kill nine-year-old Sarah Connor (portrayed by Willa Taylor) in 1973. Although it killed her parents, she escaped and was found by a reprogrammed T-800 (Schwarzenegger), credited as "Guardian" and sent by an unknown party to protect her.
The same T-1000 is present in 1984, posing as an Asian American LAPD police officer (Lee Byung-hun). It intercepts Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) upon his arrival from 2029. As Kyle has no experience battling a T-1000, he is unable to defeat it and breaks into a closed department store to flee. He is arrested by two police officers, and the trio are soon attacked by the T-1000. Kyle is rescued following the arrival of Sarah (Emilia Clarke) and the T-800 Guardian (Schwarzenegger) in an armored truck. By latching a piece of itself onto the truck, the T-1000 tracks the three to the Guardian's warehouse base. It masquerades as Reese in a failed attempt to fool Sarah, after which it launches an attack on the group, who destroy it using hydrochloric acid.
After Sarah and Reese travel to 2017, they are recognized by O'Brien, one of the police officers from 1984. His experience with the T-1000 leads him to believe their story about Skynet and free them from custody so they can stop Judgment Day. Near the film's end, the Guardian acquires T-1000 shapeshifting abilities after being exposed to liquid metal at Cyberdyne's headquarters.
Other appearances Patrick reprised his role as the T-1000 in T2-3D: Battle Across Time, a 1996 movie ride created for Universal Studios theme parks. In this short film, the T-800 (Schwarzenegger) takes John Connor (Furlong) to 2029 to aid him in destroying Skynet once and for all. On their way, the T-1000 chases after them while they are on a motorcycle. They lose its pursuit after the T-800 shoots at it with a shotgun several times.
Two T-1000s appear in Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Nuclear Twilight, a 1996 comic published by Malibu Comics, in which they take on the appearance of a resistance soldier; one of them is then sent to the past to kill John Connor, as outlined in the film. In the simultaneously published Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Cybernetic Dawn, set just after the film, a female T-1000 and two T-800s come to the present to ensure Skynet's creation. A T-1000, featuring the same likeness from Terminator 2, is also featured in the 2011 comic Terminator/RoboCop: Kill Human. As in the film, the T-1000 targets John but now must also confront RoboCop.
Patrick reprised the role for imagery featured in the Terminator 2 arcade game (1991). The T-1000 and T-800 are also featured in the video games Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021) and the initial version of Call of Duty: Warzone (2020) as playable operators. In 2025, Patrick reprised the role of the T-1000 as a playable character in Mortal Kombat 1, through the Khaos Reigns downloadable content pack.
Production background Both the original film The Terminator (1984) and its sequel film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), were co-written and directed by James Cameron. The only antagonist in the franchise's first movie is a T-800, portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.