Terminator’s Linda Hamilton Reveals She Had to Be Convinced to Watch Dark Fate in Theaters

Terminator: Dark Fate was in theaters not too long ago, but Linda Hamilton wasn’t about to go see it. She talked to the AV Club about the film and how she ended up seeing the finished product. It’s not all that uncommon for people to not want to see their own work. This seems a bit extreme though. Hamilton isn’t taking any sort of nonsense from anyone and it seems it would take a special individual to intervene. It sounds like Dark Fate director Tim Miller had to absolutely insist that his star went to see the theatrical release for herself.

“I’ve only seen the film once, because I just find it awful to watch myself,” Hamilton said. “And the only reason I watched it was because I love [director] Tim Miller, and I love my actors, and I just thought I owed it to Tim to see what we had done. Because we would yell that back all the time while we were shooting. He goes, ‘Linda,’—over the bullhorn—’You’re going to see this movie?’ I’m like, ‘I’m not! You’re not the boss of me! You’re the boss of me right now!’ [Laughs.] It was always a will-she-or-won’t-she thing. I want to support the people I love. They are my dream team, truly. Mackenzie [Davis], Natalia [Reyes], and Tim. It was like Tim and his three muses, you know? And forged by fire, man. We put it all in everyday.”

When it came time to discuss that box office performance, Hamilton didn’t hide from that either.

“I’m not sure how much of that is due to the fact that the public did not go out and see it,” she a I mean, the box office really—I can’t say disappointing, because I don’t use subjective words—but the fact that it didn’t perform at a level as T2 did might impact the public’s interest, quite frankly in New Orleans, where I live. I was just worried about, like, paparazzi up on the levee, the increased visibility and scrutiny and all of that. But in New Orleans, it ain’t about what you do or what you have, it’s about who you are, and that has remained true.”

“I’m not really big on the huge franchises,” Hamilton offered. “I’d much rather do work that is risky and different and that nobody sees. I mean, I’ll do theatre for seven bucks a night for the rest of my career and be very happy. You know, I just want to do the acting part. I’m just a really lazy movie star, and I can’t hold myself up to or live up to or stand up for those that can’t live up to—It’s like, nah, I’m out. I love acting, so that’s what has to remain very clear. I hope I always get to do it.”