Robert Patrick Nearly Put Nine Inch Nails on the Terminator 2 Soundtrack
Robert Patrick reveals he lobbied to get Nine Inch Nails on the T2 soundtrack — and doubles down on his love for his brother’s band Filter — in a new JoBlo sit-down.
Here is a fun crossover you might not have clocked: Robert Patrick, the T-1000 himself, is the older brother of Filter frontman Richard Patrick. And back in the day, Robert was such a Nine Inch Nails diehard that he actually tried to push James Cameron to drop an NIN track into Terminator 2. No, it didn’t happen. But the way he tells it is a great little behind-the-scenes nugget.
The T2 needle-drop that almost happened
In a recent interview, Patrick lit up when Nine Inch Nails came up and picked his favorite: 'Head Like a Hole' off 'Pretty Hate Machine.' That’s the song he lobbied for in T2. Cameron, though, was deep in a Guns N' Roses phase at the time and went with 'You Could Be Mine' instead, which also landed on 'Use Your Illusion II.' Given the era and Cameron’s taste for big, swaggering needle drops, that checks out.
When it comes to Filter, family wins
Patrick made it clear his love for Filter runs even deeper than his NIN fandom. Asked for a favorite Filter song, he blanked on the title in the moment, but a little follow-up pointed to 'Surprise' from the 2013 album 'The Sun Comes Out Tonight.'
'It’s a happier song and just a real loving song that I think he wrote for his daughter. It’s a really beautiful song.'
As for albums, Patrick rides hard for Filter’s 1995 debut 'Shortbus'—the one that opens with 'Hey Man Nice Shot.' In his view, it’s a defining 90s record: not grunge, but a heavy, industrial-leaning blast that sits in the same neighborhood as Skinny Puppy, Ministry, and yes, Nine Inch Nails. He even joked his brother might not love that comparison, but the sonic lineage is the point.
The soundtrack side of the story
Nine Inch Nails is handling the score for 'Tron: Ares,' which is exactly the kind of neon-digital playground you want them in. And Filter’s no stranger to movie music either: the band popped up on the soundtracks for 'The Crow: City of Angels' and 'The X-Files,' and made a real chart dent on 'Spawn' by teaming with The Crystal Method for '(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do.'
So, no NIN in T2, but we did get 'You Could Be Mine,' and Patrick’s music taste checks out across the board. Honestly, if an alternate cut ever dropped with 'Head Like a Hole' blasting under a T-1000 sequence, I’d watch that immediately.