“James Cameron doesn’t miss” is a popularized saying, especially after the long-awaited release of Avatar: The Way of Water. But the quote doesn’t refer just to James Cameron’s gambles on large-scale productions. It also refers to the wealth of engaging characters in his films, each created with a sharp intention to thrill, swoon, or just plain entertain you. Here are the very best James Cameron characters.
11 Jake Sully - Avatar Series
The twin brother of a recently-deceased pioneer scientist, Jake Sully accepts his brother’s ticket to the alien planet of Pandora in order to assist the RDA (Resource Development Administration) in the mining of the planet’s natural resources. But when Sully finds a second life in an avatar body as part of the Na’Vi Tribe, he instead leads a resistance against the humans. While Jake Sully’s arc in the first Avatar has been compared to other rebel leaders in movies like Dances with Wolves, he takes a whole new role in Avatar: The Way of Water, as a father. Without spoiling anything for the well-reviewed sequel, parenthood brings a whole new dimension to Jake Sully, and Sam Worthington’s performance, that cements the character as one of Cameron’s best.
10 Dwayne Hicks - Aliens
While Michael Beihn also starred as Kyle Reese in Terminator, it was his turn as Corporal Hicks of the Colonial Marines that brought out the best in his collaborations with James Cameron. While initially portrayed as a quiet military lifer, Hicks opens up into a standout character once he takes over leadership of the Marines. Whereas Kyle Reese was responsible for sharing almost all the information about the future and its threats. Hicks is able to instead act, with little need for exposition. This plays up Beihn’s knack for commanding characters. While Hicks is unceremoniously killed off in the opening to Alien 3, his character still stands out as one of Cameron’s best military types, of which there are many.
9 Quaritch - Avatar Series
Played with delightful grit by Stephen Lang, Miles Quaritch is the main antagonist of the Avatar series, representing the military/mercenary forces of the RDA. Like other Cameron Villains, Quaritch serves as both an informative voice, as he introduces Jake Sully to the dangers of Pandora, and a stand-in for oppressive figures of authority. Quaritch orders the destruction of the Na’Vi’s sacred world tree, and goes down fighting in a mech suit long after the RDA has lost the final battle of the movie. Quaritch’s story does not end with his human body’s death on Pandora. He “returns” as a Na’Vi avatar in the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which brings a whole new level of complexity to the character.
8 John Connor - Terminator Series
Destined to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its never-ending army of terminators, John Connor is present throughout the entire Terminator series, even if he doesn’t appear onscreen. His literal existence acts as the central plot device in a majority of the Terminator movies, as the robots are sent back in time to prevent John from reaching his leader role.
While John Connor appears in many different forms, his best outing is in T2: Judgment Day. Here, John is a rebellious teenage kid, cut off from his mother, and on the run from a new terminator. His attitude is straight out of the '90s, with accompanying skateboard and an authentic performance from Edward Furlong. This wonderfully contrasts against John’s legend and importance to the Terminator timeline. When paired with Schwarzenegger's stoic T-100, John shines, teaching the killing machine the classic catchphrase “Hasta La Vista Baby”.
7 Helen Tasker - True Lies
James Cameron characters are at their best when they are everyday people that become heroes through experiencing extremely entertaining danger. Cut right from that cloth is the co-lead of True Lies, Helen Tasker, played to perfection by Jamie Lee Curtis. Wife to Secret Superspy Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Helen yearns for adventure after her husband’s continued absences, until they end up on a mission together.
Helen could have easily been written as a foil to Harry’s espionage adventuring, but instead ends up leading the action. By the end of the film, Helen is an agent herself. While Helen hits all the marks of a great character from Cameron, it’s Curtis’ Golden Globe-winning performance that elevates the role to new heights.
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6 Jack Dawson - Titanic
Titanic made Leonardo DiCaprio a movie star, but that wouldn’t have been possible without the solid characterization of Jack Dawson. Though not the flashiest of Cameron’s characters, Jack Dawson is perfectly written in the role that he fills in Titanic as both Romantic Lead and its representative of the “lower class”. Because Jack’s fate is already tragic, and he is disadvantaged simply due to income status, his backstory and attitude is not as conventionally sad as expected. This allows Cameron and DiCaprio to imbue Jack with a sense of casualness that emulates famous Hollywood leads like Jimmy Stewart or James Dean.
5 Neytiri - Avatar Series
Neytiri, personified with a Saturn award-winning performance by Zoe Saldana, is a Na’Vi that acts as both Pandoran guide and co-lead of the Avatar series. She is the first Na’Vi native that audiences meet, and carves out her own characterization as she grapples with her care for an outsider, and her love for her planet. Like the other Avatar characters on this list, the most impressive moments from Neytiri arrive in the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. In the film, Neytiri is still a fierce warrior, but is also a mother still coming to term with a new pregnancy.
4 Rose DeWitt Bukaker (Titanic)
Rose is a fantastic character for almost every reason Jack Dawson is a fantastic character, plus the added benefit of a more thorough Cameron-style character arc. An Older Rose serves as the narrator of the film, taking viewers back in time to the Titanic. When we pick up with the younger Rose, she’s among the highest class of passengers, but pushes outside those confines to find love and freedom with Jack. This all escalates to the infamous sinking of the Titanic, where Rose must then choose to stay alive on a floating door, even as Jack and the other passengers freeze.
In the end, Rose has the final say on her and Jack’s story, and chooses to drop her necklace into the ocean. It is a level of autonomy that her entire journey builds towards, from an assumed engagement, to endangering her own life, to fighting for her own life. Both Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart were nominated for Oscars for playing Rose.
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3 The T-100 - Terminator Series
Sometimes characterization is about the lack thereof. Such is the case with The T-100, who is, by definition, a killing machine. Famously portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, The T-100 was simply too popular to remain the antagonist of the series, instead shifting into a protagonist after the first installment. In T2: Judgment Day, Schwarzenegger returns as a reprogrammed T-100, who instead seeks to protect John Connor. Schwarzenegger's biker style, as well as the red-eyed robotic skeleton underneath, have become iconic characters in every right, appearing across media and in numerous movie sequels.
2 Ellen Ripley - Aliens
While James Cameron did not direct the first Alien, and therefor did not create the character of Ellen Ripley, he inarguable elevated the character into legendary status with the action sequel Aliens. Sigourney Weaver brought intelligence and humanity to a character that had survived a demon, and then chose to destroy hell for it.
Where the original Ripley could be considered the best “final girl”, referring to the lone survivor of a horror movie, Cameron’s Ripley is an action hero, through and through. In the end, she goes toe-to-toe with the queen of the Xenomorph aliens. Cameron’s characterization, and Weaver’s Oscar-nominated performance led to multiple Alien sequels starring Ripley, even after the character’s own death.
1 Sarah Connor - Terminator Series
Whereas James Cameron only had control of the second part of Ripley’s journey, he completely charted the path of Sarah Connor, famously played by Linda Hamilton. In the first Terminator, Sarah is an innocent Californian resident that is not only out for her own survival, but for the survival of the entire human species. It was Cameron who fought for Sarah to be the one to finally destroy the T-100, rather than time-traveler Kyle Reese, cementing her as the hero of the movie.
Sarah Connor, and Linda Hamilton, emerged as Action Icons in the second film. When Sarah returns in T2: Judgment Day, she has been institutionalized for her knowledge of the future, but has still been preparing for Skynet’s takeover. Hamilton stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Schwarzenegger, coupled with an intensity that ties back to the last film. While Hamilton did not return onscreen as Sarah Connor until Terminator: Dark Fate, her genre-impacting turns in the first two installments rank her at the top of James Cameron’s characters.