14 Actors Who Became Absolute Legends With Just One Movie

4. Linda Hamilton - Sarah Connor (The Terminator & Terminator 2: Judgment Day)

Notwithstanding the challenges of returning to acting after pregnancy, actresses in Hollywood face another, simpler and bigger challenge: the lack of great, active female roles. While men can pick and choose from a variety of roles in big-budget blockbusters, women often have to settle for playing love interests, damsels in distress or other mainly romantic or sexual roles. Parts like Sarah Connor come along once in a blue moon, and that explains why Linda Hamilton isn't more famous. Having been told by her acting professor at Washington College that she wouldn't amount to anything, Hamilton moved to New York and attended classes by Method acting pioneer Lee Strasberg. She got her break on the soap Secrets of Midland Heights, before breaking into films with TAG: The Assassination Game. James Cameron spotted her in Children of the Corn, based on the short story by Stephen King. While Sarah Connor begins the first Terminator film as a frightened mousy creature, she gradually transforms into something much more gutsy, independent, energetic and intelligent. Hamilton is a commanding presence in the second film, retaining traditionally feminine qualities like empathy and the material bond with her son while being as physically and mentally strong as most of the men around her. The fact that Hamilton has never reached these heights again is a big indictment of Hollywood's attitude to women - something which is still a problem for aspiring talents today. What She Did Next: Hamilton concentrated on TV work between the two Terminator films, appearing on Beauty and the Beast and Murder, She Wrote among others. After Terminator 2 she returned to TV again, with her only big cinematic hit being Dante's Peak. She recently had a recurring role in Chuck.