Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, two extraterrestrial fiends along with a robotic menace were wreaking havoc on movie screens, leading some misguided individuals to think they stood a chance against them. A remarkable assembly of esteemed talent confronted the nightmares of outer space, namely the Xenomorph from the “Alien” series, the Yautja from “Predator” films, and Skynet’s assassin from “The Terminator” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (also nightmarish creations). Yet, there were merely three actors who had the (dis)privilege of battling all three.
Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn, and Bill Paxton fought valiantly against extraterrestrial creatures and time-traveling robotic assassins and survived to narrate their experiences, unlike their on-screen characters. The trio first encountered the killer from a grim future in “The Terminator,” with Paxton as a punk whose clothes were stolen at a bus stop, Henriksen pursuing the enigmatic assassin as Detective Vukovich, and Biehn portraying Kyle Reese, the time-displaced warrior dedicated to safeguarding the human resistance’s leader, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton).
The trio then came together again in 1986 for “Aliens,” where Paxton and Biehn portrayed Colonial Marines, Hudson and Hicks, while Henriksen played the android Bishop. However, it was during their confrontations with the Predator that they all faced the alien hunters individually, each on distinct occasions, but only one of them achieved a unique distinction.
Bill Paxton holds the singular distinction of being killed by a Xenomorph, a Predator, and a Terminator. Regarding the Predator’s encounters with Biehn, Henriksen, and Paxton, they all confronted the Yautja years apart. Paxton was the first, when the Yautja invaded Los Angeles in “Predator 2” in 1990. This was followed by Henriksen, who, as Charles Bishop Weyland, found himself trapped amidst the clash of the creatures in 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator.” As for Biehn, he wouldn’t face a Yautja until 2025, depicted in animated form, when he battled a Yautja alien ship in “Predator: Killer of Killers.”
However, it is the late, great Paxton who will long be remembered as the sole star to be slain by all three movie monsters. The punk was terminated by Arnie, Hudson was dragged underwater in “Aliens,” and his wisecracking cop met his end on a train in “Predator 2.” In contrast, Henriksen met his demise off-screen at the hands of the Terminator, was speared by a Yautja in “Alien vs. Predator,” and exited peacefully in “Alien 3” when Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) turned off his power.
As for Biehn, while he did indeed perish in “The Terminator,” it was through an act of self-sacrifice, and the Xenomorphs did not take his life either. Instead, Hicks was killed during the opening credits of “Alien 3,” after being impaled during cryosleep. Then, in “Killer of Killers,” he was impressively animated in a decapitation scene. All those exits are quite remarkable, but they pale in comparison to Paxton’s award-winning deaths in his films. Following that, it’s simply game over.