Linda Hamilton ignored ex James Cameron's phone calls about Terminator return

Linda Hamilton almost missed out on returning to the Terminator franchise as she doesn't take calls from her ex-husband James Cameron.

The 63-year-old actress married James in 1997 after starring in his first two Terminator movies, but they divorced in 1999, with Linda receiving $50 million (£39 million) in their divorce settlement.

For the new Terminator reboot, Dark Fate, James, who is producing this time, wanted her to return alongside original co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Linda initially refused to call back as she wasn't clear it was a work offer.

"We don't talk at all," she told U.K. chat show host Graham Norton. "He rang three times and it was only on the third call when he mentioned it was about work that I rang him back! It took me a little while to decide if I had something more to do with her character."

In fact, the actress almost didn't sign up for the original 1984 movie, The Terminator - and it was only working with Arnie that convinced her to go through with the film.

"I didn't want to do it at all. I was a snotty New York actress and I didn't want to go to California," she added. "It was only when I saw Arnie on set and he was fantastic, that I thought, 'I'm in.'"

Terminator: Dark Fate debuts in cinemas on 23 October.