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12:53 GMT 16 Nov 2024, updated 12:58 GMT 16 Nov 2024 By JASON CHESTER FOR MAILONLINE and RUTH STYLES FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
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As John Connor he was mankind's last hope, a messianic figure charged with freeing humanity from the vice-like grip of robotic tyranny in a post-apocalyptic, war-ravaged world.
It was also an opportunity for Edward Furlong to establish himself as one of Hollywood's hottest young actors after winning his iconic role breakout role in James Cameron's 1991 classic, Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Aged just 13, Furlong had no acting credits to his name when he was cast as a wayward, teenage Connor alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic T-800 Terminator - a killing machine transported from the year 2029 to protect our future leader from peril.
Taking full advantage of pioneering physical, special and cosmetic effects that still look remarkably fresh some 33-years after its initial release, Terminator 2 helped redefine what was possible in cinema, while raking in an impressive $520million.
It also raised the profile of its cast, none more so than the hitherto unknown Furlong, but ensuing years would not be kind to the promising young actor.
Indeed, while many expected a future littered with awards, accolades and major acting credits, it was instead mired in controversy, court appearances and controlled substance abuse issues as Furlong's life spiralled out of control.
Despite an auspicious start, the young actor's career nosedived following the 1998 release of hard-hitting drama American History X, in which he played high-school student Danny alongside Ed Norton's reformed racist skinhead, Derek Vinyard.
Controversially, in 1992, when he was 15, the actor began a relationship with his tutor, Jacqueline Domac - at 29 some 14 years his senior - after meeting on the set of Terminator 2.
The couple eventually moved in together, but in 1994, when the state of California to green lighted the prosecution of adult women involved sexual relationships with minors, his uncle filed a statutory rape complaint that was ultimately unsuccessful.
When the couple finally broke up in 1999, Domac sued Furlong for 'assault' and a portion of his earnings.
Furling was already struggling with addiction, and after first visiting rehab in 2000, the actor struggled through years of relapses that led to several scrapes with the law.
In April 2001, a 23-year-old Furlong was hospitalized with a suspected drug overdose as he built his reputation as a Hollywood party animal.
This was followed by years of embarrassing arrests, including for one bizarre incident that saw him attempt to free lobsters from a storefront display.
A failed three-year marriage with actress Rachael Bella, with whom he shares son Ethan, ended in 2009, and saw him slapped with a restraining order after allegedly punching her in the face in a drug-fueled rage.
His subsequent relationship with former Dawson's Creek starlet Monica Keena again captured headlines after Furlong was arrested multiple times for alleged domestic violence.
He was later handed another restraining order from Keena, and after he was arrested on domestic battery charges against her in 2013, - his third arrest in four months - Furlong seemingly hit rock bottom.
Sustained crystal meth abuse had rotted his teeth, and striking images sparked concern as the child star's descent became clear for all to see.
Following decades of struggle, the 47-year old actor has turned his life around in recent times, revealing to DailyMail.com that he had re-launched his career as he celebrated his 'second chance'.
'It feels great to be back on set and sober too,' he said.
'I didn't feel hungover when I went to work. There's other sober people at work which is weird because if you're not sober, you're not hanging out with the other sober people. It was cool.'
Despite his teeth rotting out due to years of drug abuse, the then-44-year-old admitted that it took him some time to agree to having his teeth 'ripped out' and replaced with veneers in 2022.
'It sounds weird for me to be talking about teeth because I don't live and breathe the way I look but every time I looked in the mirror, it just bummed me out as a reminder of what I had done for all those years,' he said.
'It's nice to get a second chance. It was a no-brainer, I'm super glad I did it.'
Furlong was just 13 when he was plucked out of obscurity by director James Cameron to take on the central role of John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
He told Dailymail.com: 'The whole thing was a shock. I don't know if I ever completely absorbed it. Picked up from nowhere, just auditioned for it and before I knew it, I was doing it. I was in the movie.
'When I look back on it, I'm like damn, that's pretty crazy. When I was younger, I was pretty driven and somehow manifested that into my life.
'It was pretty awe-inspiring. I loved movies and I'd seen Terminator but had no idea how it was made.
'I remember the first day like it was yesterday – getting up at four in the morning and really hating life.
'Getting to set and just seeing how a hundred people are doing different jobs. There's so much that goes into it and learning very quickly that this is actually a really boring process.
'When you're running away from a piece of tape or whatever and then you see it all together with the music – you're like wow, these people really know what they're doing. It's pretty wild!'
But the instant fame and slew of awards masked trouble behind the scenes.
Furlong says however successful he appeared, he always felt like 'I was pulling something over on everyone' and was terrified people might find out who he really was.'
'I had a lot of awesome things happen but everything comes with a price, nothing is free,' he added.
'When I was younger, I didn't have too many people looking out for me and I was left to run wild.
'I didn't know how to manage my money. If I was older, I wouldn't have made so many bad decisions.'
First came marijuana, alcohol, and magic mushrooms. Then, as he hit his twenties and embarked on near-daily parties, cocaine and heroin were added to the mix – one to help him stay awake, the other to get him to sleep.
'I was never a normal teenager. I had a very un-normal life. I was almost destined for [drug addiction]. In a weird way, I never really felt like I fit in,' he said.
'So, when I was high, I had camaraderie with other people. Just drinking and partying. All of a sudden, I felt like I was with people and I fit in somehow. That's how it started.
'It worked for a long time. I will say, I used to love tripping and psychedelics. There's some cool good stuff that comes out of that.
'But it's a whole other thing when you get to the hard drugs. In my twenties, I was partying and wanting to go out every night, but I was so tired and I'd be drunk and want to do more cocaine so I could wake up and drink some more.
'But that all spirals into, now I'm whacked out of my head and want to go to bed, so now I need something to put me to sleep which would be Xanax or heroin.
'Then I'm not even going to parties anymore – I'm just wanting to do the coke and come down and I'm sitting there alone.
'I know it doesn't turn into that for everybody. I'm not anti-drugs or anything. I know it turns into that for me.'
In 2006, he married actress Rachael Bella – best known for her role in horror movie The Ring – and their son Ethan was born the same year.
Furlong says he was able to kick heroin and 'maintain' on a diet of alcohol, weed and the occasional snort of cocaine for a period of time after his son was born.
But by 2009, his marriage was floundering with Bella filing for divorce, followed by a scandal in 2012 when Ethan, then six, tested positive for cocaine after a visit with Furlong, leading to a judge ordering only supervised visits with his son.
Infamously, he was robbed the same year, while on Skid Row – a Los Angeles neighborhood notorious for drugs and homeless people. At the time, he claimed he was just asking for directions.
Behind the scenes, Furlong had descended back into heroin and meth addiction which culminated in him being arrested for domestic battery against then-girlfriend Monica Keena in January 2013 and being sentenced 180 days in jail.
Despite spending 61 days in the pen and completing a 90-day drug program, Furlong still couldn't kick the habit – despite becoming increasingly desperate to do so.
He said: 'Towards the end, I was shooting loads and loads of heroin, meth, smoking DMT [a psychedelic drug] all the time. That's the way I was all day.
'It's amazing I'm still alive – there were a couple of close calls. I definitely OD'd but that's the cycle you know.
'Once you get in there, it's so hard to see a way out. That's what I'd want people to understand – there is a way out but it's hard.
'It's the bravest thing I've ever done in my life to not use. I'm not someone who likes to be controlled by anything or anyone and I didn't want to be a slave to it anymore.'
In August 2016, he and a friend checked into a hotel in Ventura, a small town 40 miles north of LA, with the intention of kicking heroin.
Furlong says the pair showed up carrying a bag of meth aimed at ameliorating the pain of heroin withdrawal which was discovered after they were asked to move rooms and staff found used syringes in the room they had shared.
Booted out of the hotel, they were attempting to check into another when they were arrested for being under the influence of an illicit substance and booked into the Ventura County Jail.
Despite describing the cop who arrested him as a 'd***', Furlong says his unlikely benefactor was also a blessing in disguise.
'It was actually getting arrested for such a bulls*** thing that it ended up getting me sober,' Furlong told DailyMail.com.
'I was hating life. I thought it was so not fair what had happened. But it led to what's happening today.'
At sentencing in February 2017, Furlong was handed a suspended sentence of 36-months on probation that would kick in if he didn't complete a six-month drug rehab.
In the event, he spent a year at Wavelengths Recovery – a drug rehabilitation center in Huntington Beach, California – and he hasn't looked back since.
He said: 'I've learned as time goes on, it's easier than I thought it would be. I like myself better, people definitely like me better sober.
'My son and I have a wonderful relationship. I like how simple my life is these days. I get to wake up and not worry I'm going to go to jail.
'I'm not hungover and wondering what I did last night. There's so many awesome things and reasons I do it for. I hope to keep it up.'
'It's the greatest thing I've ever done,' he added. 'I'm blowing myself away every day. It's cheesy when I get those year chips but I can't wait to get my five-year chip.'
Furlong says his goal now is to get his old life back. He said: 'Things are slowly turning around and I just want to get my life back to what it was and what I was doing in the first place.
'I f***ed over so many people when I was on drugs, gaining back the trust of the people that work with you when you've flaked on them so much is a long process.
'It's like the friendship that happens after a bad breakup – people are learning to trust me again. It's great and things are slowly starting to get going again.'
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