Bolaji Badejo: The Man Who Played Alien
Bolaji Badejo (23 August 1953 – 22 December 1992) was a Nigerian visual artist[1] and actor who became known as one of Hollywood's most unlikely on-screen performers[2] in the role of the Alien in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien, his only film role. Born in Lagos, Badejo was of Yoruba descent and was the son of the director general of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He first studied in Nigeria, then in the United States before finally moving to London to specialize in graphic design. He was eventually discovered in a Soho pub by a member of Scott's casting team. Standing 6 ft 10 in tall, he was chosen to play the part of the Alien due to his height and "very long legs". Dripping with menace, the alien in Ridley Scott's 1979 space horror classic was quite literally the movie's break-out star. With an extendible jaw that salivated acid, it wasn't enough that "Alien" could capture and kill; it wanted to use humans unfortunate enough to cross its path as a surrogate womb as well. Yet while enthusiasts know much about the film's cast -- its heroine Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, and the unfortunate crew of the spaceship Nostromo -- the man behind the titular creature was nearly as elusive as his enduring on-screen character. Alien" was sold with the strap line "In space no one can hear you scream." Fittingly the actor in the suit, Bolaiji Badejo, was largely silent in his part in one of the 20th century's most celebrated films. The six-foot-10-inch tall Nigerian is no longer with us, dying from sickle cell disease in 1992. But by talking to those who knew him on set we can piece together the story of one of Hollywood's greatest villains -- and one of its unlikeliest actors. I wonder if Bolaji knew how important the role was... Perhaps he did after the event. I doubt it at the time." Badejo wouldn't have been the only one -- when Sigourney Weaver signed up, she thought "Alien" was a "scrappy little independent film." No one knew the film would go on to make over $100 million at the box office from a $11 million budget, or win an Academy Award for Allder, Giger and their team for Best Visual Effects. P/s : unlike the gangly and lanky world champion of borrowing , Nigerians are a people to be proud of, so long as you don't originate from the futa jallon mountains .
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