120 InSTYLE NOVEMBER 2019
SO WHAT DO YOU DO?
THE ICONIC STAR OF THE SCI-FI FRANCHISE TRANSFORMS HER BODY—AND HER MIND
P
laying Sarah Connor again was not something
I ever saw coming. And I wasn’t sure I wanted
to because I felt pretty pleased with the char-
acter arc of the first two Terminator fi l m s. Yo u
think, “It worked—why mess with it?” But 28
years had passed, and I thought
that would be a very rich landscape to explore.
Obviously, it couldn’t be a redo; I’m now 63
years old. And that made it very intriguing for
me. But you don’t want to let the fans down.
You know the first things they’re going to look
at are the “Linda Hamilton arms.” [Laughs]
It’s like, “You want ’em? So do I, girl!” There’s
pressure because fans expect you to look like a
very close version of what you were. But I
didn’t want to play what I was then. I wanted
to play a new version of that—an older, better version.
Physically, becoming Sarah Connor for this film was very
different. I trained as hard but differently. It was easier 28
years ago because I had youth and hormones on my side.
[Laughs] I’m not unrealistic, but I’m a hard, hard worker.
Mackie Shilstone was my fantastic trainer. He’s a legend and
crosses over into every sport. And he understands the body
in motion. Peyton Manning has even trained with Shilstone
to prepare for the Super Bowl. I got to work with him because
Serena Williams was pregnant. It was a wonderful accident
of timing. Yes, we lifted and pumped weight and cross-
trained; there were Pilates, supplements, and a diet. I didn’t
eat carbohydrates for a year and a half. But every-
thing Shilstone did with me was in motion.
Weights? Always with motion. It’s that kind of
science. On the film we worked a lot of six-day
weeks; even if we had a weekend off, there was
probably a scuba lesson or military training.
When I did have a day off, I’d sleep 20 hours. I’d
rest my body and read my books to take my mind
elsewhere. Still, the results are different, you
know? It’s disappointing that you can work as
hard and not look the same. But then you just
think, “I cannot be what I was.” It took me a while to just go,
“Hmm, fuck that! Let’s go with what we’ve got and make it as
fantastic as possible.” I’d never felt like a badass until I made
this film. —AS TOLD TO ANGELIQUE SERRANO
Linda Hamilton can be seen in this month’s
Terminator: Dark Fate.
Training for Te r m i n a t o r
LINDA HAMILTON ON...
Hamilton in the
1991 blockbuster
Terminator 2:
Judgment Day
Hamilton in
Terminator:
Dark Fate