Bolaji Badejo: The Nigerian giant who played 'Alien'
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Bolaji Badejo became one of cinema's most feared villains almost by accident. After a lengthy casting process, agent Peter Ardram came across Badejo in a pub in London. Thinking that the 6'10" Nigerian matched the thin, insect-like profile director Ridley Scott required, he arranged for the two to meet. (Image: courtesy Mike Sidthorp.)
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Badejo, seen here with dresser John Birkinshaw inside Bray Studios. The design for the alien's costume was the brainchild of H.R. Giger, who created concepts for many of the sets. Made from latex, the fitting process was long and arduous, not to mention uncomfortable for Badejo.
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The costume's tail was controlled separately and made it difficult for Badejo to sit down between takes. When fully fitted, the creature stood seven feet tall -- not ideal considering the set of the spaceship Nostromo was only 6"7 high.
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The alien Badejo played was the fully-grown iteration on the creature that sprang (spoiler alert!) from John Hurt's chest during the course of the film. According to special effects supervisor Nick Allder, the response to that scene was largely real -- none of the cast knew quite how graphic it would be.
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The alien's head, nearly a meter long, was at one point going to be filled with live maggots, says Allder. Whilst he was wearing it Badejo could barely see and had to take it off every 15 minutes to stop himself from overheating.
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The gruesome alien played by Badejo as it appeared on screen.
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Despite his best efforts, the alien that terrorized The Nostromo (another spoiler alert!) never succeeded in finishing off all the crew. The film was Bolaji Badejo's only credit.
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