Lena Headey on The Sarah Connor Chronicles
By Unknown
Source: Canmag.com

It’s not starting until January, but The Sarah Connor Chronicles is already in production. This weekly action series based on The Terminator films picks up Sarah Connor after the events of T2. With a chance to change her and John’s fate, they still find themselves battling robots. Lena Headey felt nothing but confidence taking on Linda Hamilton’s mantle.

Lena Headey is Sarah Connor
“I know she’s held in high esteem,” said Headey. “She’s this iconic character which is brilliant and I just think it’s a challenge. I’m going to step up and just take it full on. Linda Hamilton was absolutely superb and I know she’s held very dear to people, but I’m coming in now and it’s a different stage for The Terminator so hopefully people are going to enjoy what I bring to her.”

As an actor, Headey did not need to watch two previous movies to understand the job she was hired to do. “For me personally as an actor, it’s instinctive. It’s an emotional being and I don’t see how looking at something is going to help you. I realize that she’s an iconic character, so is John, but I’ve seen the first movie and it’s obvious who she is and what she’s about. I think I just take from that what she is fundamentally which is her great humanity. And then I think the rest is down to us, otherwise you’d drive yourself mad. Also, this is very different. It’s a TV series so we’re not repeating, we’re not remaking the movie.”

To get in Sarah Connor mode, Headey did learn how to fire a gun for the first time. “I did a bit of gun, whatever it’s called when you go in the scary booth with everyone. It’s all right. There’s a strange, I don’t know, a strange feeling surrounding guns. I grew up in a country where they’re not around but it’s part of her, so.”

Writers are currently hammering out 13 episodes. Headey only knows the basics of her arc for the first season. “We’re going to sit down and obviously see a few of the episodes before we start. I’ll have a clearer idea as to where we’re going. All I know through the whole story is that she is this kind of strong single mother.”

Even though she had a good experience with the T-800 in T2, Sarah Connor might not be so warm to the new terminators sent back to protect John. “I think they’ll be a little standoffish for a while.”

While the show will provide Headey with a stunt double, she’s not about to miss out on the fun. “I’m going to be doing a lot. I’m going to beg them to let me.”

As a technophobe herself, the themes of the series are particularly frightening to Headey. “Computers scare me so I’m sort of already at a loss. I seem to break everything technical in my life. It does raise issues obviously, about where we’re going and the possibilities of predators.”

The Sarah Connor Chronicles premieres in January on Fox.