Cast and Characters (Alien) Alien (1979)
The cast
| Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Skerritt | Captain Arthur Dallas | Captain of the Nostromo. Makes the calls, defers to the Company, dies in the air shafts. |
| Sigourney Weaver | Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley | Third in command. The only crew member who enforces protocol. Sole human survivor. |
| Veronica Cartwright | Navigator Joan Lambert | Navigator. Emotional, vocal, terrified from the moment Kane is facehugged. |
| Harry Dean Stanton | Engineering Technician Samuel Brett | Parker's partner in the engine room. Agrees with everything Parker says. First to die after Kane. |
| John Hurt | Executive Officer Thomas Kane | Second in command. Volunteers for the expedition. Host for the chestburster. |
| Ian Holm | Science Officer Ash | The Company's android plant. Overrides Ripley's quarantine. Protects the alien. |
| Yaphet Kotto | Chief Engineer Dennis Parker | Blue-collar agitator who wants full shares. Fights the alien with a flamethrower. Killed with Lambert. |
| Bolaji Badejo | The Alien | Nigerian design student, 6'10", cast for his extreme thinness and unusual body proportions. |
| Helen Horton | Mother (voice) | The Nostromo's mainframe computer. Delivers Special Order 937. |
Ripley was written as a man and cast as an unknown
The script originally specified all characters as male. The decision to cast Ripley as a woman came during pre-production, when the producers realized the role could work with either gender. The filmmakers deliberately sought an unknown actress.
"There were people who were names, apparently, who wanted this part. But the writers, and maybe Ridley, insisted it had to be an unknown because they didn't want anyone to think this person's going to survive." — Sigourney Weaver, Strange Shapes (1979 interview)
Weaver auditioned wearing boots with heels that made her a foot taller than Scott. When asked her thoughts on the script, she shot from the hip — which turned out to be exactly what Scott wanted.
"I felt the role was going to be a tough one... I thought it was best to put all my cards on the table because if they really wanted a 'Charlies Angel' I knew it wouldn't be right for me." — Sigourney Weaver, Fantastic Films #12 (1979)
"Ripley survived because she had the attributes necessary to survive... here's a woman who lived her life very much by the book... when the Alien appears there's nothing in the book to go by." — Sigourney Weaver, Fantastic Films #12 (1979)
Skerritt played Dallas as a man who just wants to finish the job and go home
Tom Skerritt's Dallas is not a heroic captain. He is a working man running a commercial operation. He defers to the Company, follows orders, and makes reasonable decisions that happen to be wrong. When he enters the air shafts to flush the alien, it is not bravery — it is a captain doing the only thing left he can think of.
Harry Dean Stanton did not like science fiction but trusted Scott
"[Alien's] a really classic movie now. I never liked science-fiction movies or monster movies, but that one was very believable. I told Ridley Scott during my interview with him that I didn't like those sorts of films and he said, 'Well I don't either, actually, but I think I can make something of this one.' And he did." — Harry Dean Stanton, Venice Magazine (1997)
Stanton and Kotto improvised much of the Parker-Brett dynamic. Their bickering about bonus shares and complaining about the work gives the Nostromo its blue-collar texture. (imdb)
Yaphet Kotto saw Parker as a milestone for Black representation in science fiction
"I saw that this character, Parker, was the first African-American who was going to be in space." — Yaphet Kotto, RogerEbert.com (2021 obituary)
Kotto brought physical intensity to the set, telling cast and crew each day, "I'm gonna kill it, man!" His ad-libs with Stanton — including the unscripted "your personality, man!" exchange — became part of the film's texture. (rogerebert)
Veronica Cartwright's reaction to the chestburster was real
Cartwright, along with the rest of the cast, was not told precisely what would happen during the chestburster scene. They knew Kane would die. They did not know about the blood jets.
"I had no idea there was going to be a blood jet, and I went straight into that blood jet, and it hit me square in the face." — Veronica Cartwright, MovieWeb (interview)
"When we were told that we could come down to the set, the entire set was dressed in plastic, everybody's wearing raincoats, and there were big buckets of this awful stuff that smelled like formaldehyde." — Veronica Cartwright, The Ultimate Rabbit (2017)
Ian Holm played Ash like a man on a permanent job interview
Holm decided that Ash would deliver every line and make every move as though he were interviewing for a position — polite, eager, slightly off. The result is an android performance so restrained that his reveal still works even when the audience expects it. Ash's admiration for the alien — "its structural perfection matched only by its hostility" — is the Company's value system given voice. (imdb)
Bolaji Badejo was found in a bar
Casting director Peter Ardram spotted Badejo, a 6'10" Nigerian graphic design student, at a bar in London. His extreme height and thin frame gave the alien its unsettling proportions. Badejo trained in tai chi and mime to develop the creature's movement. He never appeared in another film. (wikipedia)