Linda Hamilton has revealed her cameo has landed Dark winds is deeply influenced by the 25-year dementia journey of her mother, Barbara K. Holt.
For those who don’t know, the 69-year-old American actress appeared as Barbara Sena, the wife of acting Scarborough Police Chief Gordo Sena, played by A. Martinez, in the first episode of Dark winds season four.
To play Sena, Hamilton used her experience with her late mother, as the character has the same first name and illness as her late mother, Holt.
She told me PEOPLE“My mom had dementia for 25 years. I swear, I went in for a fitting and it’s all set in the ’70s, and they brought out a pair of shoes for my character that were my mom’s shoes. I mean, they were the exact shade of taupe that my mom would wear to lengthen the leg. And it was a very specific color from the ’70s and ’80s. It just felt really sweet to do this to kind of honor her.”
In Dark windsBarbara is unaware of the extent of her memory loss, such as The terminator star said, “I’ve spent a lot of time wondering, ‘When does anyone know? Do you know?'”
“I’ve never really seen that part of dementia where someone really knows they’re losing it. So it’s a good balance [to portray]. I have a few friends going through that now and I’ve seen them fail mentally over the years. So there is every good reason to play this role.”
Particularly through Sena, Hamilton is willing to “show the poignancy of someone” with dementia and how “the people around them miss them while they are there.”
Dark winds season 4 was released on February 15, 2026 on AMC+.
