McG? Well, his resume is highlighted by the gloss of two Charlie’s Angels films, a lot of pop music videos and a Superman film project that infamously never got off the ground.

“I know, people hear the name and think, ‘That guy must be a jerk,’ ”the 38-year-old said with a groan. “But it’s what everybody has called me forever.” The moniker was hung around his neck by his parents who put “Joseph McGinty Nichol” on his birth certificate but then decided “McG” would be a tidy way to avoid confusion since the boy’s grandfather and uncle were also named Joseph.

Says producer Dan Lin, “McG is not going to have to explain himself. He’s a talented guy. He epitomises the American dream. And unlike most people, he accomplishes his dreams.”

McG has shown a flair for the unexpected in his career, growing up as an outsider in Newport, with “my slight build, my orange afro, the braces—I was the odd kid out in a land of Adonises,” he said. He was passionate about music and, after a few attempts as music star he ended up making music videos.

Drew Barrymore was impressed with that flair as well and insisted he be the director for Charlie’s Angels. The 2000 film grossed $40 million its first weekend in the United States (a box-office record for a first-time director), and critics split on whether it was great, mindless fun or just grating and mindless. A 2003 sequel followed, and while McG isn’t especially proud of the second film, the films racked up a combined $523 million worldwide.

Next, McG was handed the keys to Superman. More than $15 million had been spent in pre-production and on a summer day in 2004, a private plane was waiting to whisk the director to Australia so he could get to work. Then McG was stricken by a severe panic attack. His intense fear of flying grounded him that day, and Superman instead took flight with director Bryan Singer.

Bruised and widely ridiculed, McG sought medical help to overcome his intense phobia. He faced another tragedy with the death of his brother. As his film career sputtered and lurched, he became a successful TV producer with shows such as The O.C., and Supernatural. Still, TV is TV and film is film, so there was no reason in the world for Warner Bros to think of McG as the right man for the $140 million revival of Terminator.

“He inspires me to do the impossible—who would have thought that McG could get Christian Bale to do T4?” said Lin. “Then he got Arnold Schwarzenegger to come back and do a digital cameo in the movie.”

The film is set in 2018 and the war between the malevolent machines of SkyNet and humanity. Bale is the finally adult John Connor, whom the previous films set up as the prophesied saviour of humanity in the face of the killing machines—serpentine underwater models, flying models, motorcycle models, giant walking models, etc.

McG was paid $6 million to direct Terminator Salvation, and he has locked in a $10 million deal for the sequel. “I have no sense of pressure or anxiety when I’m making a film,” he said. “I want to let this movie speak for itself. I really want to get away from my cheerleader self and keep quiet.”