Actors of the film "Alien". Scared by Ridley Scott

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Today, in the 21st century, Ridley Scott's groundbreaking 1979 project remains a reference piece of cinematic art, pushing the genre forward with more than just production design quirks. He literally blew up the film industry of the 80s, opening a new page of organic realism in science fiction. The film "Alien" (first plan actors: S. Weaver, T. Skerrit, I. Holm, D. Hurt) demonstrated to the whole world the concept of the space future with its closed space, costumes and impeccable stylistic decisions. Scott's brainchild quickly became the new standard for a generation of film makers, commercial directors, video game designers and comic book artists.

Author's intent

One of the achievements of Ridley Scott's film critics called the unsurpassed game of the cast. The fact is that the actors of the film "Alien" were deliberately not dedicated to the features of the filming process. For example, before filming each episode, where one of the characters was a full-sized Alien, the director hid him from the involved performers until the last.

Of course, the actors really wanted to see the monster with whom they would have to act out the scene, but faced a categorical ban from the creator. As a result, all the emotions that the viewer now has a happy opportunity to observe in the frame - surprise and horror are genuine. The actors of the film "Alien" reacted to the monster at least extraordinary.

Under the cover of mystery

In the film "Alien" the actors were selected through a long and captious casting, only the performer of the role of Alien had no competitors. Luckily, Nigerian design student Bolaji Badejo was found in a bar by one of the participants in the filming process. The impressive texture of the guy so impressed the experienced filmmaker that he immediately brought him to Ridley Scott.

The director, estimating Badejo's height at 218 cm, decided that it was he who would be able to reincarnate as a monster, since his limbs seemed unnaturally elongated and created, ultimately, the illusion that there was definitely not a person under the suit. In a number of scenes where Sigourney's heroine pretty much got the monster, the Nigerian was replaced by stuntmen Roy Scammell and Eddie Powell.

Top secret

But the script episode with the "birth" of the monster was kept in the strictest secret from the cast. The actors of the film "Alien" did not know what would happen in this scene. The only exception was John Hurt, who reincarnated as an unfortunate mate who came into close contact with an extraterrestrial life form. That she will grab the performer's face and put the hero into a coma,many knew, but only Scott and Hurt knew exactly how it would happen.

For example, Veronica Cartwright, who played the role of the navigator, had no idea that she would be generously spattered with blood. Such secrecy, as time has shown, was not only justified, but necessary. To some extent, because of her, the cult film "Alien" became a cult film. Actors and roles whose photos have been recognizable to the public for decades have served as prototypes for many characters in films and video games.

The vicissitudes of caste

The formation of the cast of the film was quite tense, the candidacy of each performer was chosen through long disputes between the producers and the director of the tape. Casting took place simultaneously in London and New York. There were only seven characters on the project, so Scott intended to build a strong team of performers to focus on the visualization process afterwards.

Initially, the unfortunate security officer Kane was supposed to be played by John Finch, but due to he alth reasons, the actor could not take part in the creation of the tape. Then Scott personally approached John Hurt, who started working on the project the very next day. And he did not regret his decision - he received a BAFTA award for participating in the film.

The role of Ripley's key character was also offered at first to Veronica Cartwright, but then it was given to Sigourney Weaver, who played brilliantly, decorating the film "Alien" with her presence. The actors who starred in the film with twoperformers noted the absence of hostility or disrespect between women. Although Veronica had reason to be indignant, because she found out that she was not playing the role of the central character only when she arrived to try on costumes.

The main difference from other representatives of the genre

The wise decision to make the main character of the picture a woman was made by producers D. Giler and W. Hill. They assumed that such a move would distinguish their project from the mass of other films of this genre, since in them the main roles were played exclusively by men. So, midshipman Ripley became a woman, and the previously little-known Sigourney Weaver was approved for the role. Before participating in the filming of Alien, the actress worked in Broadway small theaters. During the casting, she was stunned by the project's scenery. After the trials, she assured that such an author's approach is extremely useful for demonstrating the full spectrum of talent. The actors of the film "Alien" agreed with her unanimously. Huge rooms with high ceilings made the performers feel like they were really in a spaceship.

On the first day of filming episodes featuring Cat Jones, the actress developed a skin rash. The performer could not find a place for herself, thinking that it was an allergy to an animal, and she would simply be removed from production. But the incident was settled when the doctors found out that the actress was allergic not to cats, but to glycerin, which was used by make-up artists to simulate sweat droplets.

Flight of time

Unfortunately, time is merciless. ATThe 1979 film's cast has now experienced two losses. Actor Harry Dean Stanton, whose creative career lasted 60 years, and Bill Paxton have passed away. Harry Dean Stanton played the role of mechanic Bratt in the project, and Bill Paxton played one of the crew members of the Nostromo. The best project in the track record of both performers was the film "Alien". The actors who starred in the film are happy to show photos with departed colleagues in media interviews, warmly speaking about their personalities and acting gift.