Dutch Schaefer

A special forces operator who hunts and is hunted by Predators.

Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer is a fictional character from the Predator and Alien vs. Predator franchises, portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 film Predator and later in the video game Predator: Hunting Grounds. A United States Army special forces operator, he first confronts the Predator in Val Verde and subsequently joins the OWLF program as Agent Onyx. Centuries after his death, he reappears as a synthetic android in the United States Colonial Marine Corps in the 1994 video game Alien vs. Predator.

Quick Facts

Series: Predator and Alien vs. Predator
First: Predator (1987)
Last: Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
Creator: Jim and John Thomas
Family: John Schaefer (brother)
Relatives: Psi-Judge Schaefer (great-great-granddaughter)
Nationality: Austrian-American
Portrayed by: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Facts from the source article.

Did You Know?

In 2013, NECA released an action figure of Dutch from Predator, and in 2018 a figure based on his Alien vs. Predator appearance.
An officially-licensed Predator whiskey named Dutch Bourbon Whiskey was produced in 2018 by Fox Studios and Silver Screen Bottling Company.
Dutch's brother John Schaefer appears in the comic Predator: Concrete Jungle, and his great-great-granddaughter Psi-Judge Schaefer appears in Predator vs. Judge Dredd.

Fictional character biography

In Predator, Dutch is a highly skilled special forces operator who served in Vietnam during the Battle of Huế alongside CIA officer Al Dillon. Dillon recruits Dutch and his mercenary team for a mission in Val Verde, supposedly to rescue a foreign cabinet minister. After attacking a guerilla camp and killing rebels and Soviet officers, Dutch learns from Dillon that the true mission was to stop a Soviet-backed invasion. The team captures a survivor named Anna and heads to an extraction point on foot, unaware they are stalked by a cloaked Predator using thermal imaging. The Predator kills several team members, and after a failed trap, Dutch realizes it does not attack unarmed individuals. He sends Anna to the helicopter, covers himself in mud to hide his body heat, and crafts makeshift weapons. He lures the Predator out at night with a war cry and torch.

Cancelled appearances

For Predator 2, director Stephen Hopkins envisioned a buddy cop film with Patrick Swayze and Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising Dutch, but Schwarzenegger declined due to salary disputes and scheduling conflicts with Terminator 2. In 2004, Schwarzenegger expressed interest in a cameo in Alien vs. Predator if he lost the California recall election, with filming at his residence, but he won the election. Robert Rodriguez planned a cameo for Dutch in Predators, with an ending where Dutch joins a Predator hunting party, but this was not realized.

In 2011, Schwarzenegger was considered for a new Predator film that entered development hell. He also discussed a cameo with Shane Black for The Predator, where Dutch would say "Come with me if you want to live," but declined due to the short role. Dutch's relatives, brother John Schaefer and great-great-granddaughter Psi-Judge Schaefer, appear in comic series.

Reception

Entertainment Weekly stated that Schwarzenegger was never as manly as in Predator. IGN noted the character satirizes the action film genre and critiques macho heroes. ScrewAttack listed Dutch among top ten space marines in video games for his role in Alien vs. Predator. Deja Reviewer observed that the title Predator applies to both the alien and Dutch.

In popular culture

Dutch's line "Get to the choppa" became associated with Schwarzenegger, who repeated it on The New Celebrity Apprentice and in Mobile Strike ads. The line is also spoken by characters in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem and The Predator. In parodic retellings of Predator, Dutch is voiced by Daniel Baxter. Lieutenant Andrew Pierce from the film When Eagles Strike was based on Schwarzenegger's image as Dutch.