Who did Earl Boen play in The Terminator? Tributes pour in as prolific voice actor dies aged 81

Well-known actor Earl Boen, who played the role of Dr. Peter Silberman in The Terminator films, recently passed away on January 5, aged 81. Several well-known personalities from the film industry paid tribute to him, including John Glover, who wrote in a tweet:

It is yet unclear whether his stage 4 lung cancer, which he had been battling since last year, had any role in his death. Boen was also known for his voice work in various animated shows and video games.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Boen was popular for his performances in different TV shows and films. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise:

Earl Boen appeared as Dr. Peter Silberman in The Terminator

Boen was popular for playing different roles in movies and TV shows but gained recognition for his performance as Dr. Peter Silberman in The Terminator films.

The character was a criminal psychologist working with the Los Angeles Police Department in California. He was well aware of the delusions of Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor, but instead of helping them out, he decided to build his career through their problems.

He interrogated Kyle Reese in The Terminator, who was sent from the future to protect Sarah Connor from the Terminator tasked with killing her. He was the chief and criminal psychologist at Pescadero State Hospital where Sarah was being kept and Silberman was frequently attacked by Sarah on multiple occasions.

Boen was the only actor alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger featured in the franchise's first three films.

The Terminator was released on October 26, 1984, and was a box-office success. This led to five sequels, among which Terminator 2: Judgment Day managed to receive positive feedback. The reception was mixed towards the rest of the entries and the latest entry, Terminator: Dark Fate, underperformed at the box office.

Earl Boen was a part of different films, TV shows, and video games

Boen has been active in the entertainment industry since the 50s and appeared in TV shows like The Wonder Years, Three’s Company, The Golden Girls, and more.

He played various roles in other TV shows and films like Wonder Woman, Police Woman, Hawaii Five-O, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Dukes of Hazzard, Madame’s Place, Growing Pains, and more.

Earl Boen featured in films like G.I. Joe: The Movie, The Majestic, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Porco Rosso, Clifford’s Really Big Movie, and more. He voiced different characters in animated shows like The Further Adventures of SuperTed, The Pirates of Dark Water, The Addams Family, ABC Weekend Special, and more.

Boen’s survivors include his wife Cathy, daughter Ruby, and grandchildren Kimmy Abaricia and Kimo Harbin.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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