Oh man how did I miss this thread?! Love Michael Biehn. He's arguably the star of The Terminator, he's the one who tells you the story, gets to do the cool action and deliver lines like "Come with me if you want to live" as well as maybe the most romantic line of all time, "I came across time for you, Sarah". I mean the story was really about Sarah Connor but if Reese hadn't died, I think Biehn's career could have turned out different. Same with Aliens, great role and performance, especially considering he was brought in over a weekend, but again, he wasn't the main character and is forgotten by the end.
I always thought he was like an American precursor to Christian Bale, i.e. he could play a nice guy but excelled as intense villains. Ever see Timebomb? It's a low budget pre-Bourne Identity but Biehn goes from meek to confused to angry to badass over 90 minutes and it's all pretty convincing. Navy Seals was one of his rare non-Cameron shots at stardom as the studio head had him on his list along side guys like Kevin Costner. A shame the movie turned out to be a solid action flick with a great 80's cast and not much more.
Tombstone and The Rock were also great roles for him. Unlike Arnold or other really driven personalities, Biehn never figured on being a star and that lack of drive hurt him as well as the alcoholism. He definitely made a lot of low budget flicks for cash and even got sued when he couldn't finish one allegedly due to his drinking. But American Dragons, The Ride and Rampage also show he's capable of playing a vulnerable lead who's also physical.
Was great to see him in Planet Terror as well, Robert Rodriguez's introduction shot of him walking into camera was purposely there because Rodriguez knew it was draw a cheer from the audience who knew him from so many cool flicks. Rodriguez has always been very complimentary of him so here's hoping they work together again. He'd fit into any Michael Bay movie as a hardass military or police type but he fumbled his lines on The Rock, being nervous in front of Sean Connery and Nic Cage...