Why Linda Hamilton Almost Retired Before Stranger Things Season 5

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Linda Hamilton, known for her role in the Terminator films, recently revealed she was thinking about retiring from acting when she received the offer to appear in Season 5 of Stranger Things. She will play Dr. Kay in the final season, and her character is expected to take over the role previously held by Dr. Martin Brenner (played by Matthew Modine) after his character’s death at the end of Season 4.

Why did Linda Hamilton consider retiring before joining Stranger Things Season 5?

In a recent interview with Variety, actress Winona Ryder revealed that her role in the fifth season of Stranger Things actually led her to postpone her plans to retire from acting. She explained that a painful hip issue had made her consider stepping away, as she wants to be able to fully commit to any role she takes on.

I was already discussing retirement with my agent before all of this happened,” Hamilton explained. “I’d been dealing with a bad hip problem for a few years, and I realized I couldn’t promise I’d be performing at my peak. If I couldn’t give my best, I didn’t want to continue acting.

She had been discussing retirement with her agent for months when she unexpectedly got the chance to be in the last season of Stranger Things. This opportunity led to a video call with the show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer.

After a phone call with my agent, about two months passed, and that was the last time we talked. I told him I was retiring. Then, I got a call about Stranger Things asking if I was free from June to June. My agent immediately said yes, without even checking with me first! Luckily, the Zoom meeting with the Duffer brothers was wonderful – they were incredibly kind.

The fifth season of Stranger Things will bring back the show’s main cast, including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Natalia Dyer, Joe Keery, Charlie Heaton, Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Cara Buono, and Brett Gelman. Jamie Campbell Bower, returning as Vecna, and Amybeth McNulty as Vickie will also reprise their roles from Season 4. New to the cast this season are Linda Hamilton, known for her work in Terminator, as Dr. Kay, along with Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler, Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow, and Alex Breaux as Lt. Akers.

The final season of the show will arrive on Netflix in three parts. The first set of episodes, with four installments, launches November 26th. The second set, containing three episodes, will be available on Christmas. Finally, the series will conclude with a premiere on New Year’s Eve. All volumes become available at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time / 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

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2025-11-07 21:17