Best known for her portrayal of the take-no-prisoners Sarah Connor in James Cameron's Terminator franchise, Linda Hamilton's filmography speaks to her dexterity for vibrant and dynamic roles. In recent years, she has guest-starred in several acclaimed comedies and dramas, while in 2019 she reappeared as Sarah Connor in Terminator: Dark Fate.
During her prolific career, Hamilton has flexed numerous creative muscles as a collection of action-packed, witty, and unpredictable characters. Here are Linda Hamilton's top 10 roles, ranked according to the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer:
Lost Girl (65%)
Hamilton played Acacia for three episodes of this campy Canadian supernatural series, which stars Anna Silk as the succubus Bo and Ksenia Solo as her right-hand woman Kenzi. In season three, Acacia is introduced as a grungy bounty hunter who targets Bo, but her partner Tamsin doesn't want to cooperate with their devious plan.
In one heated moment, Tamsin remarks ominously, "You know what happens when we deliver a mark, Acacia," to which Acacia replies, "We get paid, I buy things, the world keeps spinning." This frank outlook (to put it kindly!) is not too far removed from the equally tough, but perhaps less villainous, Sarah Connor.
The Stone Boy (67%)
Although she only appears in one scene of the 1984 film, Linda Hamilton makes a stirring impression as the sympathetic bus rider who comforts young protagonist Arnold (Jason Presson). Hamilton's character asks Arnold some friendly questions on their ride, prompting him to vulnerably confess to the unintentional killing of his brother. They embrace tenderly as Arnold cries, and the unadulterated emotion of this scene makes it one of the film's most gut-wrenching portrayals of grief. Glenn Close and Robert Duvall star as Arnold's parents.
Weeds (70%)
In a departure from some of her more action-packed roles, Hamilton portrays a forthright hippie from Seattle in this dramedy about the marijuana-dealing escapades of a widowed mom named Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker). Hamilton's character, also named Linda, meets Nancy in season six, and they launch a tenuous partnership when Nancy buys her pot farm "trimmings."
Terminator: Dark Fate (70%)
Hamilton returns to her most celebrated role in the sixth Terminator installment, which only acknowledges the narrative arc of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Also starring Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 2019 film imagines a world in which Sarah's son John dies after T2 -- thereby foiling his destiny as humanity's salvation.
Yet again, Hamilton portrays Sarah with the strong-willed grit that makes the character endlessly compelling, and her development after John's death adds another level of juicy depth -- even if John Connor's fate incensed some fans. Regardless of the film's questionable plot choices, Hamilton's gripping performance in Dark Fate shouldn't be missed.
Defiance (77%)
In another sci-fi romp, Hamilton portrays Pilar in six episodes of this futuristic series about the aftermath of Alien settlement on Earth. In the season three episode "The Broken Bough," Pilar even references an iconic line from the Terminator franchise, declaring to Nolan and Irisa, "Come with me if you want to live." Unlike Kyle Reese in The Terminator, however, Pilar isn't exactly genuine when she utters these famous words. Fun fact: Mia Kirshner, who -- like Hamilton -- guest-starred on Lost Girl, plays Kenya Rosewater in the first season of Defiance.
Thief (81%)
Hamilton plays Roselyn Moore in this 2006 mini-series, which follows a crew of professional thieves led by Nick Atwater (Andre Braugher). Unfortunately, Roselyn's plot arc ends in torturous death when she refuses to betray Nick, although Hamilton manages to make her time as his candid partner memorable. During a phone call, she tells Nick, "Money, that's all this is about, for all of us." In the emotional and logistical chaos of Thief, however, the reality is a bit more complicated than Roselyn suggests.
Chuck (89%)
Hamilton plays the eponymous character's mother in this spy dramedy, which stars Zachary Levi as Chuck and Yvonne Strahovski as CIA agent Sarah Walker. Chuck works at an electronics store and is completely disoriented when he gets thrown into a web of CIA chaos, so it's gleefully ironic that his mother turns out to be a former spy!
Like most characters on Chuck, Mary Bartowski's intentions are somewhat nebulous, and Hamilton brings a memorable intensity to this sneaky spy mom. One thing's for sure: Mary's flair for physical confrontation wasn't exactly passed on to Chuck...
Frasier (93%)
Although she only appears in one episode of this acclaimed comedy, Hamilton's portrayal of Laura in "Odd Man Out" aptly demonstrates her comedic chops. Laura, a stranger to Frasier, mistakenly calls his phone and leaves a couple of messages; Frasier subsequently visits her at the airport in a moment of romantic loneliness.
Unfortunately, Laura has a husband, but she helps ameliorate Frasier's insecurity at being alone, telling him, "The anticipation, the excitement, the hope. Marriage is the death of all that." Aside from these witty lines, Laura offers some tender advice about the joys of single (and taken) life, making this a poignant moment in a wacky plotline.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (93%)
This second installment of the Terminator franchise follows Sarah Connor and a young John as they flee, fight, and even befriend Terminator machines. Judgment Day offers a darker depiction of Sarah, who was both traumatized and emboldened by her initial encounter with the homicidal Terminator that wished her dead.
At the beginning of the film, Sarah has been training herself for battle while locked away in a mental institution. After a violent escape from both T-1000 and the hospital, she reunites with her ten-year-old son; she also partners with a Terminator (played by Schwarzenegger), who looks like her original foe but was sent from the future by an older John.
The Terminator (100%)
In the debut film of this seminal sci-fi franchise, Hamilton steps into the shoes of an unsuspecting Sarah Connor, whose life becomes a flashpoint for the fight between humans and machines. Thankfully, she is visited and saved by Kyle Reese, a man from the future who must protect Sarah (and, of course, conceive John Connor with her). Sarah's grit, compassion, and dynamic portrayal by Hamilton make her one of the most enthralling characters in the Terminator universe.