Linda Hamilton Gets Honest About Terminator, Stranger Things, & More

ComingSoon caught up with legendary actress and Resident Alien star Linda Hamilton about the fourth season of her beloved TV show, her thoughts on Terminator: Dark Fate, joining Stranger Things, and more. Resident Alien will move to its new 10 p.m. ET/PT timeslot starting Friday, July 4, and will be simulcast on USA Network and SYFY. Episodes will be available to stream on Peacock one week after their linear airing.

“The fourth season starts with Harry and his baby, Bridget, stuck in prison on the Grey Moonbase while a shape-shifting alien called a Mantid has taken over his body on Earth, passing himself off as the real Harry Vanderspeigle. Harry manages to escape the Greys and arrives back on Earth for a showdown with the Mantid Alien, but soon finds he may not have what he needs to finish the job. Asta and D’arcy struggle to keep a secret from Ben and Kate, who are both desperate to find answers to what has been happening to them. Sheriff Mike and Deputy Liv attempt to solve some mysterious deaths in Patience that Sheriff Mike is beginning to think aren’t caused by anything human,” says the synopsis.

Tyler Treese: It’s been so fun watching Resident Alien these past couple of years. You’ve been great on it. I feel like your challenge as an actor in playing the General is that you have to be the straight woman. You have to take this all seriously, but it still leads to these really hilarious moments. How is it leaning into comedy while also being true to such a serious natured character?

Linda Hamilton: Not easy, quite frankly. Literally, every day I left that set, I felt like I was a failure. I’m not kidding. I mean, I love it so much, and I’m sure that’s why I would spend time going, “oh, I could just put a funny little spin on this one tiny moment, and it’ll be funny.”

I get to set, and I’m gonna work on this tiny little thing, and they’re like, “That tiny little thing you’re doing, don’t do that.” My character is just the straight man. So it’s like going to comedy camp and not getting to do comedy [laughs].

Well, something’s working. They keep bringing you back.

I know. Yeah. But I do, I feel like a total fail. I’m like you know, it’s just the nature of the character. I keep saying it’s like Colonel Klink on Hogan’s Heroes, right? No joy.

It has to be an interesting thing, especially when you’re working opposite Alan Tudyk. He’s not a household name, but he should be. He’s in everything people love. What sticks out about him as an actor? Because this is his most prominent live action role, as he does a ton of voice work too. Yeah.

Well, he is just a genius, and it is very easy to get lost in what he’s doing. And then like, “I’ll go, oh my God, right? My turn.”

Also, because he’s so good at ad-libbing, you never know what he’s done right. And comedy is timing. And with him, it’s just like, “Oh, okay, is he done? Is he done?” Because he’s always doing something.

Oh my God, there have been times where I’m just sitting there grinning, camera’s rolling, and I’m like, “oops.” It’s not grinning. I’m not supposed to grin. But he’s adorable in this last episode that we’re talking about. It’s a tiny moment, but it is a moment that I will take with me so joyfully, and it’s just a moment.

I don’t want to spoil it, but he’s trying to get rid of Darcy, and we’re sitting at a table. He wants to talk to me by himself. And so he tries to get rid of Darcy, and he’s like, “Don’t you have to diarrhea?” It made me laugh. I mean, he did it differently every single time, but I swear to God, that’s like one of my favorite acting moments of all time with Alan Tudyk saying that line.

Speaking of hilarious people, this show is Chris Sheridan’s, and he’s one of the great minds behind Family Guy. What has impressed you the most about just his work as showrunner over these four seasons? Because he has been a consistent hand here.

He sure has. I just admire him so deeply, so deeply. I made him promise to be my friend after the show, after my last day on set, and he said, “Sure.” I made him shake on it [laughs]. I was like, “This is not it. I just wanna be in your life peripherally somehow.” Because he has such a lovely way about him, and his writing is just impeccable and funny and poignant. I don’t really know how he pulls that out week after week, but I just am so in love with him and what he does.

Resident Alien is the most episodes of a show that you’ve done since Beauty and the Beast. What’s the biggest advantage when you really get used to not just the role, but also the cast and crew that you get the return to? How does that help you as an actress?

Linda Hamilton: Well, it’s been really kind of a crazy journey too, because we started right as COVID started. So we did half a season and then had a very long break and went back to do the second season. And then it was interrupted by the strike.

So there are these long gaps in between, which we know our audiences are really tired of. So in terms of comfort level, you just get comfortable, and then you have to take a long break, and then you get comfortable again. Then there’s another long break… [laughs].

So I think it’s kind of been hard for everybody. Even though the show is great, all of the interruptions, it’s just like pushing rock up a mountain every day for Chris Sheridan. But it is very great when we finally get to get back together. […] Aside from Alan, everybody is a talented comedian, comic actor, all of ’em. Do you know what I mean?

So I am just overjoyed when I’m in the company of such great people, actors, and, you know, I’ve made a few friends in Vancouver as well. I like going to Vancouver now [and seeing] friends at the dog park. It’s just a good life.

I’m so excited to see you in Stranger Things. That is just a dream role for fans. I’m sure you’re excited as well. That show has such a high production value and very long episodes. Did that almost feel like filming a movie for you?

Well, because it was a very long haul. We took a year to shoot eight episodes, so I’ve never been on a project for a year. Six months is the biggest. Terminator, Dante’s Peak, things like that used to be six-month shoots, and hardly anybody does that anymore.

But to carry on for a year, and because scheduling was huge and it changed all the time just because the production and weather and this and that. So it was being in a state of readiness to race to Atlanta for an entire year at any given moment.

So that was really interesting. Like ready to pounce, to just nail the character in the way that she deserved. They started with all my big scenes, my first week in. I mean, I was there getting ready before that, but my first week of shooting was like huge. I looked at what they were on the schedule, and I was like, “No way are we doing that. I haven’t even spoken words from the character yet.”

They don’t start with Episode 1. We’re heavy into Episode 2, and then I realized that every single day they shoot, it’s that huge. Do you know what I mean? I was like, well, “This has to be a partial ’cause there’s no way they’re going for this entire stunts, special effects, big acting, lots of character stuff.” And that’s my first day, because every day that they shoot, they have big scenes like that.

It doesn’t get more iconic than the Terminator movies. I was really curious about your thoughts on Terminator: Dark Fate, because that wasn’t a huge box office success, but the diehard fans I’ve talked to are mostly positive on it, and it got good reviews. Were you happy with how that turned out creatively?

Linda Hamilton: Yes. Although I am not necessarily the judge to distance myself from it. I mean, I have to say that on that film, I was just so 150% [with it] being my legacy — Terminator [as] kind of the bookends of my career. So I really jumped in and looked after that character.

I loved Mackenzie [Davis], and I loved Natalia [Reyes]. I’ve never felt so bonded with two other actors in a film. So in that way, it was beautiful, and I liked it. I only saw it once. Because I don’t see my work — it just helps me leave my face alone by not looking at my work. I do my work and I walk away. So I did see it once, and my only thing would be that it should have slowed down every once in a while.

That’s just me and old-fashioned movie-making. Everything is so supercharged right now. And it’s a formula sort of go, go, go, go. I have a hard time tracking some things like that. And this particular film, I thought there should have been a few pauses where you really see the humanity. It was just maybe a little overwhelming and maybe not quite enough real moments. Just a slight pause, you know, slow it down, see the cost, you know what I mean? See the cost that the characters pay. But anyway, that’s just a style thing, you know?

Thanks to Linda Hamilton for taking the time to talk about Resident Alien and more.