I'm a loyal reader and I finally registered *just* to say are you nuts?! I gasped when I first saw her! Are your monitor settings okay? Because that is one very thin woman. :( It's too bad, too...she's HOT!

Oh, what I would do to look like that....

 Too thin?  Not in my eyes - both look great.  I would definately use my best pick-up lines (I have two!) if I was too spy them across a crowded nightclub, supermarket, child care centre - umm, anywhere!

I think Lena looks great and well, Linda Hamilton.... I think it goes without saying, so I won't.

"Here they were offering our dream, a show supposed (by the title) to be focused on our hera [sic], our role model and they destroy it by casting a very thin, unhealthy looking actress in the role of a physical feminist icon!"

I think I'd feel more inclined to listen if the person could spell "her" properly.

I think (at this point anyway) I agree with Carolf, that the character settings are a bit different between the movie and the tv series.  The movie Sarah Connor trained quite a bit because she knew the threat was real and present, while the tv Sarah Connor thought that she had killed Skynet and was happily living a life engaged to whats-his-name.  Oh of course they toss in the lines like "Your never safe" and all that....and it makes for good quotes but the basic premis is that she sort of chilled out.  And don't forget they had to time leap over her cancer years so I'm going to cut them a bit of slack (at least for now) and say that they could have come up with 2 plausable story lines for why she doesn't have the same buff-ness as Linda Hamilton.

But I will indeed be watching the story lines to make sure they don't destroy her integrity like they did with the Bionic Woman.

Women aren't allowed to be anything! A bit overweight - whoah there fatty, put down the burger. Thin? Hey now Skeletor, have a burger sometime. Let's all be normal sized. Except no-one can decide what that is. Would this be an issue with a male actor? Because she's a woman everyone and their aunt seem to think they have a right to comment on her body.

She's an actor. She can play the role. Who cares if she doesn't have Linda Hamilton's muscles?

judging by the pictures so no i definetly don't think she's too thin. but honestly what does it matter she's a really good actress and as long as she does justice to the part then it's all good?

Firstly, there is not a thing wrong with Lena Headey's figure in this role. The only thing I questioned about her casting was the strange age difference between her and John's character.

Secondly, Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor had been locked away in a mental institution where she had nothing else to do all day but work out and buff up. Our T:SCC Sarah Connor has been on the run for two years and I'm sure has had other things on her mind than working out. Lena Headey looks perfectly (and I do mean perfectly) fit for this part and the stage Sarah Connor would be at at this point.

Thirdly, this is just a tv show with a tv show size budget (not enough for a body makeover I'm sure), and they only shot 8 or 9 episodes...no guarantee of getting permanently picked up after they air either. From Ms. Headey's perspective, buffing up to the size of Linda Hamilton for a few months of shooting may have left her hard to cast in other roles/shows/movies in the off time.

I think she rocks in this role, and I hope it gets picked up for a whole season!

OMG, second to last picture, all I was thinking was, "OMG, she's got some tats!" (And no... not the kind Jane Lynch and cohorts discussed in their latest L-Word vlog... hmm, or is it? :D)

To chip in on the topic, yes, she could 'beef it up', but I don't think it fits with this incarnation of Sarah Connor. Sure, it worked for Linda Hamilton, but come on. Can't we just let Lena be and let her do what she does best? Making us drool and mop the floor while we're at is. Don't need no friggin' extra musculature to do that!

She's not too thin; she's just not buffed enough. The right eating regime and fitness trainer  Lena can get there. But if This SC is going to kick some butt she still needs to stay in shape and buff up. How else she's going to save the world, if she's not strong enough. To maintain strength you got to workout. When you don't you begin to lose strength. I understand the storyline and all. Still I've never heard an out- of -shape action hero.

I love T:SCC though.

Did I ever say I would play nice?-Miss Ketina

Lena Headey's body?  When she played the queen in "300" or the florist in "Imagine Me and You", was she "too thin" then too?

I am a huge fan of the "Terminator" films and love Linda Hamilton, but I think Lena and Summer Glau are doing a great job so far on the TV series.  Hey, they both have a huge legacy to live up to.

For the record, she looks mighty fine to me.

but, not edgy enough. I want to see an out of control, manic Sarah Connor. I didn't get that vibe from Lena Heady.

And seriously, what's with her American accent?? I love Lena in Image Me & You, but i have to say her American accent is just as "good" as (what's that actress's name) Perabo's British accent in that movie. Sorry.

@_@

I recommended the show to a male friend and he was totally curious but then also said the lady is not buff enough. I didn't know what to say. Lena is just perfect. I like a girl with not so muscular arms. And, wasn't Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor a bit more 'crazy'? I am glad this Sarah Connor seems to be just fine, mentally.

I wonder if Kristanna Loken will make an appearance.. that would be awesome.

Geez people complain about everything - if there's something wrong with miss Headey here, I feel very sorry for the rest of us.

ps. I love this show (bionic woman go jump off the nearest cliff, and Sarah Corvus please jump into this show instead)

"Even in death Gabrielle, I will never leave you"- Xena

honestly, i think that this topic was an excuse for thelinster to post multiple images of the beautiful lena ;)

on a serious note, i agree that lena isn't as buff as linda hamilton's sarah. to echo the star in question, can fox afford a trainer? maybe she will buff out in time...

She's certainly no Linda Hamilton. I think it's a huge exaggeration to say she will inspire eating disorders, but I would like to see her a little tougher and buffer. I like the explanations some people have offered--she's not just out of a mental hospital and wasn't expecting to be in a fight. But I really prefer the half-crazed intensity of Hamilton's Sarah O'Connor. Also, we've already got one skinny waifish action hero girl in Glau, so a more physically commanding Sarah would make for a nice contrast.

Also, I think the explanation that FOX couldn't afford a trainer is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. More likely, they are (probably unconsciously) bowing to conventional beauty ideals. Women are supposed to be thin and fit but not look too strong or scary. The incongruity of skinny girl with big gun is somehow less threatening than big, strong badass girl, also with gun.

I like Lena's strong facial presentation.  She is what she is in body.  My preference would be to have her a little more buff, but if that doesn't happen I will enjoy her nonetheless.  I was dubious about the series and I am happily surprised by it.  I am liking Summer Glau more than I thought as well.

Keep up the good work T:SCC!

How cares if she's too thin. It's Lena Headey!!! That's all  that matters.

______________

check out Sarah Bettens at                                          www.myspace.com/sarahbettens         

I think Lena has an intensity that translates really well.  She doesn't seem waifish to me at all, if that's the complaint.  Big arms v. terminator out to kill you, and armageddon coming your way, hmm...maybe it would be better to outthink the bad guys.  She's in a real pickle, that Sarah Connor.  She looks great in jeans tho and truly I think she has a real gay vibe, too, don't you?  I love her to bits. 

Holycrap NO!! She is not too skinny!! JFC dose this dude even know what a heathy person is suposed to look like? Lena Headey should be a spokes woman of heath and beauty for women of her age group. Linda Hamilton extrem fit looks may had looked cool and fitting of her character, but a 1% body fat is just not healthy for a woman of any age.

We are luck, lucky, lucky to get a star like Lena Headey for this sci-fi TV role.

-Nathiest
live for lust die for love

Hardcore fans are going to complain about anything that is not the original. It's part of why you are a fan.

That being said, Lena is in no way too thin. I've seen Lena in Gossip, IMAY, 300, and T:SCC and I have never thought of her as unhealthy looking. Linda Hamilton was just as thin, if not thinner than Lena. People need to remember that "thin" is not a definition or synonym for being built/buff, which is what Hamilton was as Sarah Connor.

I think the question the fanboys(girls) need to be asking themselves is, "do I want someone with the ability to act to carry on as SC, or do I want someone who can't act their way out of a paper bag but looks like a replica of T2 Sarah?"

I do not think she's too thin at all! I'm a little baffled that she would be considered that.

I picture Sarah Connor as being more buff but, that's because I have Linda Hamilton stuck in my mind doing pull ups in the mental hospital. I agree with others in that you have to take into account the time that has passed since the setting in T2.

Is Lena too thin in general? I don't think so. Yes, she is really thin but it's a healthy thin. She's certainly hot and I don't look at her and think that I would break her just by looking at her like some other actresses.

I'm glad we're talking about this on AfterEllen. I ran into this story a couple of days ago and have been irked ever since. Emaciated, my ass.

I feel like I've been fighting this fight ever since the original pilot leaked, so I'm going to be brief.*

When I saw the original pilot, yes, I was a bit concerned about how non-athletic Lena's Sarah was. However, Ms Headey's portrayal quickly convinced me that she had both the physicality and emotional presence to a) do justice to the character, and b) allow me to put aside visions of Hamilton's T2 ultra-warrior physique.

Secondly, as explained above, this Sarah Connor is in a different place than Sarah Connor was in T2. Indeed, she's in a different place than she was in T1! T:SCC is not -- and was never meant to be -- a 24 clone. It's not rock 'em, sock 'em, round-the-clock bang-bang-bang. It is not Terminator 2.5. It is the continuing story of Sarah and her son on the run from The Law BUT after they thought Judgment Day had been averted. Everything in Sarah's actions and in Headey's portrayal has been consistent with that circumstance: She's more relaxed, but she's also ready for action as need be. Physically and emotionally, she's somewhere between the ebullient, optimistic, normal-girl of T1 and the human killing machine of T2. Thus, if one wants to complain about this Sarah, one would be better off complaining about the premise of the show.

Third, if one must, then at least take notice of the fact that Headey did, in fact, become more toned between the shooting of episodes 1 and 2! Give some credit! As LH has said, "You have to have somewhere to go."

Fourth, I wish Friedman or Middleton or Nutter (the execs) had made the point about the difference between lead-time and resources for a major motion picture vs pilot-to-production of a teevee show A LONG TIME AGO. I think in early days they were taking the tack that they shouldn't go on the defensive, but that method obviously didn't work so well.

Finally, this whole bruhaha started because T:SCC is due to start in the UK soon and some stupid tabloid or wire-service cobbled a piece together that other outlets picked up and spread far and wide. I hope it dries up soon.

* or not.

p.s. Lena Headey & LH's Sarah Connor rock my world.

I don't think Lena is too thin, instead, I think a lot of women in North America are just so overweight (and petty) that they don't realize what a woman who doesn't overeat looks like anymore.

As for Linda Hamilton, from what I heard she worked like a dog to get that muscular look in Terminator and then lost it once the film was done, just like Demi Moore did in GI Jane.

Getting back to Lena, I don't see any bones sticking out around her neck, and her arms don't look emaciated. Lena's back isn't bony either, which is a sure sign of someone being too thin. Portia di Rossi, Courtney Cox, and that frakked up Olson twin have or had really bony backs last I saw. I think Lena looks like a trim but not overly muscular woman -- in other words, NORMAL! As for Sarah Connor, her toughness doesn't come from her big biceps but from her brain.

She is not emaciated by any sense of the imagination - a lot of these people, namely those ladies at the SC Charm school are overreacting and acting like Lena is skin and bones. I get that they would want her to be more buff, but come on.

Also, Sarah, even Linda Hamilton's Sarah, would never be able to take on a terminator - even the one played by Summer Glau.

I hope Lena is aware that this is an issue that's been blown out of proportion by the media because they've got nothing else to talk about what with the strike still on.

She looks fine to me and her physical condition fits with the plot of the show.

When it comes to T2, every once in awhile I just want to exclaim "I've been a fan since T1!" and stick my tongue out. :P

I don't think Lena Heady is too thin or lean. That is just her body type. And her body type isn't the same as Linda Hamilton. Period.

Linda Hamilton wasn't buff in the first Terminator. Even though she's thinner now than she was in 1984, she still has a different body type than Lena Heady.

Heady is just straighter...and I mean as in, not as curvey as Hamilton. She has a sort of lanky catlike thing goin'. Hamilton appears more...I don't if stocky is the right word...it's like she has a shorter torso and a slightly wider frame.

What that means visually, to me, is that I've always envisioned Sarah Connor as being a physical powder keg. When the fight is on she moves in a determined way. Perhaps like a boxer. And I'm sure that's been colored by all the fight scenes I've seen Linda Hamilton in other films and TV like Beauty and the Beast (in which her character had a street fighting style).

Lena Heady looks more demure, like a ballerina maybe...but mostly like she's going to slink into the fight...catlike and graceful. Not that that's a bad thing...it's just different. And when you're used to seeing one thing...(that's essentially been in my brain for 20+ years)...it's hard to get used to something else. Sometimes you don't really wanna get used to something else!

It's a little like going from Sean Connery to Timothy Dalton. Or even Roger Moore to Timothy Dalton. Except I don't think anyone ever accused Timothy Dalton of being too thin. LOL

Bottom line is, we really need to get out of this "thin" vs "fat" body type for women. You know, we come in more than 2 body types that have nothing to do with thinness.