Where is Linda Hamilton now? Arnold Schwarzenegger was blown away by actress's ripped body in 'Terminator'

Linda is widely known for playing Sarah Connor in the 'Terminator' film series
PUBLISHED JUN 8, 2023
Linda Hamilton acted in the 'Terminator' movie franchise alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger (Instagram@
linda.c.hamilton)
Linda Hamilton acted in the 'Terminator' movie franchise alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger (Instagram@ linda.c.hamilton)

LOS ANGLES, CALIFORNIA: Arnold Schwarzenegger recalled being impressed by his co-star Linda Hamilton's buffed-up arms before shooting the iconic 'Terminator' movie in the three-part Netflix documentary series 'Arnold'. Hamilton, 66, is widely acclaimed for playing Sarah Connor in the 'Terminator' film series alongside the 75-year-old Austrian. 

"A few days before we start shooting [director] Jim Cameron says to me, let's all get together and have a nice dinner," Schwarzenegger recounted, according to Entertainment Weekly. "Linda comes in and then she takes her sweater off and I'm looking at her arms. Veins on the biceps and then the triceps — everything was like a bodybuilder except miniature."

'That son of a bitch is f---ing more cut than me'

The actor then said that he was highly impressed to see her more jacked than him. "I said, 'I can't believe that son of a bitch is f---ing more cut than me,'" the actor recalled with a smile. Hamilton, for her part, was quite exuberant to show her impressive physique to Arnold, who is known as one of the best bodybuilders of all time and has also been the star of several popular tough-guy action movies. "I do remember the fierce pride I had to show to Arnold," she exclaims. 

Linda Hamilton attends the Japan premiere of 'Terminator: Dark Fate' at Shinjuku Kabuki-cho Godzilla Road on November 06, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.
TOKYO, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 06: Linda Hamilton attends the Japan premiere of 'Terminator: Dark Fate' at Shinjuku Kabuki-cho Godzilla Road on November 06, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)

Arnold was 'low-key' about her ripped physique

Hamilton told the outlet back in 1991 that Arnold "was low-key" about her new ripped physique, but "when he saw how strong I was, he was thrilled" and even taught her to pose with her best bicep forward. The second installment of the 'Terminator' movie franchise went on to collect more than $500 million and became the highest-grossing film of 1991. However, Arnold was still skeptical bout making his Terminator a machine that doesn't claim the lives of people. 

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks during a keynote address by Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG Oliver Zipse at CES 2023 at The Pearl concert theater at Palms Casino Resort on January 04, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs from January 5-8 and features about 3,100 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 100,000 attendees.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 04: Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks during a keynote address by Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG Oliver Zipse at CES 2023 at The Pearl concert theater at Palms Casino Resort on January 04, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs from January 5-8 and features about 3,100 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 100,000 attendees. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

'Arnold was absolutely against the idea'

"At first Arnold was absolutely against the idea," Cameron says in the Netflix series. The director recalled him and the actor meeting to discuss the film when Cameron noticed Schwarzenegger wasn't "his usual cheerful self." "I go, 'What's the matter? You don't like it," asked the Terminator creator. "He says, 'Jim, I don't kill anybody.'" The director tried to explain that the cyborg is "the good guy" now, "the defender, the protector." As a result the Terminator offered up a concession to his director. "Okay, alright. Can I shoot them in the leg?" 

Cameron allowed his star his request, "I said, 'Yeah, lets just shoot 'em in the leg, how's that?' He goes, 'That's good.'" 

Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former governor of California, attends the Bits & Pretzels 2022 at ICM Munich on September 25, 2022 in Munich, Germany.
MUNICH, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 25: Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former governor of California, attends the Bits & Pretzels 2022 at ICM Munich on September 25, 2022 in Munich, Germany. (Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images)

Where is Linda Hamilton now?

Linda Hamilton has seen a comparatively more successful career on television than on the big screen. The actress previously stated she felt like Los Angeles had become a place of “inflated egos, and inflated boobs and lips. I felt like a real outsider, so I left.” She currently has a recurring role as a military general on the Peacock sci-fi comedy series 'Resident Alien', which was renewed for its third season in July last year. 

Linda Hamilton attends an axe throwing event prior to the
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 29: Linda Hamilton attends an axe throwing event prior to the "Terminator: Dark Fate" Screening at the ArcLight Hollywood on October 29, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
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