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Linda Hamilton Won't Wear Terminator Merch - But Here's Why She Loves to Wear Resident Alien Gear
While she doesn't like to "self-promote," Ms. Hamilton has made an exception for the hit SYFY series.
While Linda Hamilton makes it a regular habit of avoiding shameless self-promotion at all costs, the actress decided to make an exception for SYFY's hit series, Resident Alien.
Sitting down for a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the genre icon behind fierce characters like Sarah Connor and General Eleanor McCallister showed up for the occasion wearing a beanie "emblazoned" with the official Resident Alien logo.
Linda Hamilton Doesn't Like Wearing Merchandise Associated with Her Film & Television Projects... Except When it Comes to SYFY's Resident Alien
"I do not self-promote. I think it’s kind of embarrassing, wearing stuff," said The Terminator alum. "This is the only merch of anything I’ve ever done that I wear. I just have to. I love this show. I love going into Canada to shoot it. You go through immigration and they say, 'Why are you here?' And I say, 'Resident Alien … the show.' For being such a nice country, they’re a little tough at immigration, aren’t they?"
Hamilton joined the show in its second season, taking on the role of General McCallister, a no-nonsense military official obsessed with proving the existence of extraterrestrial life. This burning desire to nab and study a bona fide alien stems from unresolved childhood trauma. As a little girl, McCallister saw her father (a humble lighthouse keeper) driven to suicide after the government discredited his belief in UFOs.
For More on Resident Alien:
From Alan Tudyk to Linda Hamilton: All the sci-fi veterans who have appeared in SYFY's 'Resident Alien'
Resident Alien Boss Says Harry's Wild Blue Avian Encounter "Was One of the Best Things We've Done"
Watch: Alan Tudyk Takes Resident Alien Fans Behind the Scenes of SYFY’s Hit Show
“When they were starting up and asked me to join, they showed me the pilot, and I was just floored,” Hamilton recalled of the casting process. “It was beautiful, poignant, sweet… I loved the whole tone of it. Lovely, funny, character-driven, but asking some deep and meaningful questions, and handling them all in a beautiful, light way. We need a little more of that in the world."
Despite being a major fan of the series, Hamilton can no longer watch it. Like many people, she doesn't enjoy seeing and hearing herself onscreen — a pretty relatable feeling. How many times have you cringed at your appearance and the true sound of your voice when it's played back? "I get to read it, and I get to watch it at the table reads, but I just can’t bear looking at myself anymore," she concluded. "I just think … I don’t know. It’s all there. It’s done. What else is there to say? I just don’t like watching myself that much anymore."
How to Watch SYFY's Resident Alien
Want to catch up on the story so far? All three seasons of Resident Alien — which hold an aggregate and near-perfect score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes — are now streaming on Peacock right here!
The Resident Alien fun will continue this June as Asta and Harry prepare for the birth of their child in a brand-new comic book storyline, subtitled The Book of Life, from writer Peter Hogan and artist Steve Parkhouse. Issue #1 hit stands via Dark Horse Wednesday, June 26.
