Linda Hamilton Was Considering Retirement Before ‘Stranger Things’ Came Along

While we don’t know too much about Linda Hamilton’s villainous character on Stranger Things—even with the first five minutes of the new season now being out in the world, thanks to Netflix—we know a lot about Hamilton’s career and the formidable presence she brings to the screen, in the Terminator franchise especially, but also in genre favorites like Beauty and the Beast, Resident Alien, and more. So it’s surprising to hear she was thinking about taking a step back from showbiz, at least until Stranger Things came calling.

Hamilton talked about the offer she couldn’t refuse in a red-carpet interview with Variety ahead of the Stranger Things premiere.

Linda Hamilton, best known for her role as Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise, says she was talking to her agent about retirement before signing on for the final season of #StrangerThings:

“I was having a terrible hip issue for a few years and I was like, ‘I can’t… pic.twitter.com/bBW4x4YGCI

— Variety (@Variety) November 7, 2025

“I had started to talk to my agent actually right before this about retirement,†Hamilton recalled. “I was having a terrible hip issue for a few years and I was like, ‘I can’t guarantee that I’m going to be at my best, and if I can’t do that, then I don’t want to be in front of [the] camera.’â€

But just a few months after she floated the idea of retiring, a fateful call came. “They called [my agent] about Stranger Things and said, ‘Is Linda available?’ And he went, ‘Yes.’ He didn’t even check with me; he just went, ‘Yes.’ Then there was the Zoom meeting with the Duffer brothers, who could not have been kinder … [they said], ‘We want you,’ and that was exciting.â€

Make your own “I’ll be back†joke here if you must, but such is the power of the Upside Down. We’ll get to see Hamilton as Dr. Kay, a super-smart and ruthless government agent chasing after Eleven and company, when Stranger Things season five arrives. The first batch of episodes drops November 26, with more arriving December 25 and 31.

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