Biehn got his start in movies with a bit part in the film version of "Grease" in 1978. He appears in two scenes, one in which John Travolta's character, Danny, hits Biehn's uncredited character in the stomach while playing basketball. In 1981, he appeared in the role of Douglas Breen, a stalker, in the 1981 film version of Bob Randall's novel "The Fan", starring Lauren Bacall. In 1984, Biehn played Sgt. Kyle Reese, a soldier sent back in time by John Connor to save his mother, Sarah Connor, in the film "The Terminator" opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton. He starred in two other films directed by James Cameron: "Aliens" (as Corporal Hicks) and "The Abyss" (as Lieutenant Hiram Coffey), and had a small role in ', briefly reprising his role as Reese in a scene cut from the final film but restored for the Director's Cut version. He was considered to portray the film's antagonist, the T-1000, but the role went to Robert Patrick. In 2019, Biehn confirmed in an interview that he will not be reprising the role for ' or any other future installments. In the same interview, Biehn claimed that he was initially not enthusiastic about appearing in a Schwarzenegger film, as he had hoped to act alongside the likes of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.