Edward Furlong

Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's 1991 science fiction action film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was followed by a mini-sequel, short attraction film T2-3D: Battle Across Time.

In 1992, he gave an Independent Spirit Award-nominated turn opposite Jeff Bridges in American Heart, and earned a second Saturn Award nomination for his work in Pet Sematary Two. He won a Young Artist Award for his performance alongside Kathy Bates in A Home of Our Own (1993) and appeared in Before and After (1996) with Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson. Furlong received acclaim for his starring roles in the 1998 motion pictures Pecker, co-starring Christina Ricci, and American History X, co-starring Edward Norton. He had significant roles in the comedy Detroit Rock City (1999) and the crime drama Animal Factory (2000).

Early life
Edward Furlong was born August 2, 1977, in Glendale, California, the son of Eleanor Torres (née Tafoya), a youth-center worker, and Heinrich Bruno Wittig. Furlong is of Mexican descent on his mother's side, and has also described himself as "part Russian".

Furlong never met his biological father, who died in June 1980 when Edward was two years old. His mother's sister, Nancy Tafoya, and their half-brother, Sean Furlong, obtained custody of him for several years, including 1990–1991, when he began his acting career. Initially, the two served as Furlong's managers.

1990s
In 1991, Furlong began his film career as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a role that earned him an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Role and a Saturn Award for best young actor. He was discovered for the part by casting director Mali Finn while visiting the Pasadena Boys and Girls Club in September 1990.

He followed this role with a string of moderately successful high-profile films and independent films, sharing the screen with Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson in Before and After (1996); Tim Roth, Maximilian Schell and Vanessa Redgrave in Little Odessa (1995); Jeff Bridges in American Heart (1993); and Anthony Edwards and Clancy Brown in Pet Sematary Two (1992).

In 1993, he was featured in Aerosmith's music video for "Livin' on the Edge". He played the lead role of Michael Brower, a horror and videogame-obsessed teen in the sci-fi horror film Brainscan (1994). In 1995, he starred in the film adaptation of Truman Capote's The Grass Harp. He reprised his role as John Connor in the 1996 theme park ride T2-3D: Battle Across Time alongside Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Patrick.

In 1998, he starred in American History X alongside Edward Norton and appeared in his first comedy role in Pecker, directed by John Waters. Of his title role in Pecker, Furlong stated, "It's true most of the characters that I've played so far are kind of like suicidal. Really dark roles, which I like. But I wanted to do something different and John gave me a chance to do that."

In 1998, he starred in the film Detroit Rock City. During filming, he met Natasha Lyonne whom he then dated. He played a young convict in Steve Buscemi's film Animal Factory (2000).

2000s
Furlong's career and stardom declined considerably after 2000, with most of his subsequent films being released straight to DVD. In 2001 he took a role in I Cavalieri che fecero l'impresa aka The Knights of the Quest, a little-seen film by Italian filmmaker Pupi Avati. Furlong was expected to play John Connor again in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003); however, Nick Stahl was cast just before filming began. He later said he had a deal to reprise his role, and was removed after the producers discovered his drug addiction.

In 2004, he appeared in a music video for Metallica's "The Unnamed Feeling", and played Jimmy in the low budget independent film Jimmy & Judy (2004), during which time he met Rachael Bella. The two became romantically involved and later married. He played the lead in The Crow series' fourth film The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005), alongside David Boreanaz and Tara Reid, which was planned for a theatrical release but upon release was widely panned by critics and audiences and was released to DVD after one week in limited theaters. He appeared in Night of the Demons, the 2009 remake of the 1988 horror classic, which was shot in New Orleans and released straight to DVD.

In 2006 and again in 2010, he appeared in five episodes of the television program CSI: NY as Shane Casey.

2010s
Furlong appeared in two scenes of Seth Rogen's film The Green Hornet (2011). Next he starred in This Is Not a Movie, an English-language Mexican film written and directed by Olallo Rubio and co-starring Peter Coyote and Edi Gathegi. He was featured as Fixer in the crowdfunded pilot Star Trek: Renegades.

In 2019, James Cameron confirmed that Furlong would be returning to reprise his role of John Connor. It was later reported that his facial likeness would be used via CGI in Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) with Jude Collie as a CGI stand-in, and he was involved in one day of filming for facial capture performance, as John Connor was killed off in the opening scene.

2020s
In 2023, Furlong was slated to star in the movie Forest Hills alongside Shelley Duvall and Dee Wallace as well as Charlie's House.

Other work
In October 1992, Furlong released an album in Japan called Hold on Tight, with a cover of "People Are Strange" by the Doors.

Personal life
When Furlong was 16 he began a relationship with his  stand-in and tutor, 26-year-old Jacqueline Domac, whom he had met when he was 13. They eventually began living together. When California's statutory rape law changed in 1994 to allow the prosecution of adult women who have sex with minors, his uncle Sean Furlong filed a complaint against Domac alleging rape, but was unsuccessful in having Domac prosecuted. In May 1999, Domac sued Edward Furlong for domestic violence and for 15 percent of everything he had made in the previous three years, including his pay for Pecker and American History X, which she claimed that she was owed because she had worked for Furlong as his manager.

Furlong married Rachael Bella on April 19, 2006. The couple's son was born in September 2006. On July 8, 2009, she filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Later in 2009, she sought to dissolve the restraining order she had filed, so that he could visit their child. In 2012, Bella alleged in court documents that their six-year-old son tested positive for cocaine, which led a judge to rule Furlong's visits had to be supervised.

Substance abuse and legal problems
Furlong has battled alcoholism and drug addiction throughout his career. He first went into rehab in October 2000. In 2006, Furlong stated he was "on and off" hard drugs from ages 22 to 26 and added that "I was a heroin and cocaine addict. It was really scary." and "I don't even think about (partying) anymore. It seems lonely now: running and clubbing and doing coke. I have nightmares about doing hard drugs. I'll wake up and I'm like, 'Did I relapse?

In September 2009, Bella filed a restraining order against Furlong after he allegedly punched her in a drug-fueled altercation. In 2010, he received three years of probation for violation of the civil protective order obtained by Bella.

In October 2012, Furlong was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence against his girlfriend Monica Keena. In November 2012, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting Keena. In January 2013, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery against Keena and arraigned on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for a December 12 misdemeanor domestic violence charge also involving Keena. In March 2013, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail for a violation of probation after he "used force" against his ex-girlfriend, and for violation of a protective order, prohibiting approach and contact with Keena. He was arrested again in May 2013 for assaulting his girlfriend and avoided a further prison sentence after agreeing to five years' probation, 90 days rehab for drug addiction, and one year of domestic violence counseling. He had served 61 days in jail.

Rehabilitation and reconciliation
After his arrest in 2013, Furlong committed to rehabilitation.

In February 2021, he reunited with his American History X co-star, Ethan Suplee, on Suplee's podcast American Glutton to discuss Furlong's recovery from drug addiction and compulsive eating. At the time of publication, he was three years sober from alcohol and illegal substances. Speaking on his initial hesitancy to maintain sobriety, he said, "I genuinely was afraid of facing what I would be without all that, because I carried all that as who I was."