InStyle USA - 11.2019

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