Science-fiction icon Linda Hamilton made a surprise cameo in the Dark Winds Season 4 premiere, adding a heartbreaking role to her filmography in AMC’s thriller series.
Hamilton is obviously best known for playing Sarah Connor in The Terminator franchise, and in 2019 she reunited with Arnold Schwarzenegger to reprise the role in Terminator: Dark Fate alongside Gabriel Luna and McKenzie Davis. Most recently, she starred in Stranger Things Season 5 as Dr. Kay, a nefarious military operative experimenting on the Upside Down in Hawkins.
Now, she’s joined AMC’s psychological thriller Dark Winds, which is based on the Leaphorn & Chee books by Tony Hillerman. It mainly follows Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), officer Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) and Sergeant Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) as they investigate strange crimes from Navajo County.
But Hamilton’s role is surprisingly much more heartbreaking than The Terminator and Stranger Things fans might expect.
Linda Hamilton’s Dark Winds Season 4 cameo was a tribute to her mother
Linda Hamilton plays Barbara Sena in Dark Winds Season 4, and she’s introduced in the series through a touching cameo. During the scene, Leaphorn helps acting Chief Gordo Sena (A. Martinez) by changing a tire while Barbara sits on the side of the road and it becomes clear she isn’t aware of her memory loss.
When speaking to People, Hamilton explained that she knew the role was meant to be when she realized the character shared the same name as her mother.
“My mother had dementia for 25 years. I swear to you, I went in for the fitting and the whole thing takes place in the ’70s, and they pulled out some shoes for my character that were my mother’s shoes,” the star recalled.
“I mean, they were the exact color of taupe that my mother would wear to extend the leg. And it was a very specific color from the ’70s, ’80s. It just felt really sweet to be doing this to kind of honor her.”
Hamilton also pointed out that she’s played similar roles for the majority of her career as a result of The Terminator, and Dark Winds Season 4 was a nice change of pace from that.
“I feel like I really maxed out the tough guy, and I just don’t want to play tough the rest of my career,” she added. “This was just a very sweet little scene.”
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