XENOMORPH, ALIEN 1979
“You wanted to make the most terrifying creature you can and yet it is also very beautiful,” said Ridley Scott to prolific Avant-garde Swiss Artist, H.R. Giger.
Original Giger “Necronom” painting that had first inspired Scott’s alien.
The first design from concept artist H.R. Giger had a large black eye, but they thought it would be more frightening to have monster that was blind, but could find exactly what it wanted.
With a head that long a certain function needed to be added, so they gave him a very long tongue, with teeth. As for whether its a male or a female, Giger insisted that “… it is both”.
For the actor in the suit, the production tried performances with gymnasts, basketball players, circus performers, and even Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) himself, but none of them would suffice Ridley Scotts vision.
It was only until casting director, Peter Archer, at a pub in West London one day, when he noticed a very tall man with very slim and long proportions.
The man was Nigerian-born Graphics art student called Bolaji Badejo. After a casting session, Ridley knew this was the man. Giger immediately made another cast fitting to Bolaji’s proportions.
The Alien’s movement required to be slow, and deliberate. To achieve this, Bolaji attended Thai Chi classes as well as immersive choreographic rehearsals.
“The idea was that the creature was supposed to be graceful as well as Vicious” says Badejo who wore fifteen separate later pieces over a black body suit.
The suit’s helmet was extremely heavy due to the inside animatronics which remote-controlled the jaws. Badejo’s view was hindered by the mask and it was made worst in the scenes that had little to no lighting, not to mention the visor being constantly covered in jelly for a slimy look.
Due to the tail, the actor was unable to sit in between takes. That was until the production team built a special chair for him.
After production was done, Badejo moved back to his country to pursue and continue his career as a graphic designer, never to appear in a movie again.
The original alien head for the costume was made by H. R. Giger from a real human skull while he painted the costume using an airbrush. Copious amounts of clear lubricant were used to give a slimy look. The adult alien costume sold for $126,500 when it went on sale in 2007.
The Bio-industrial look of the creature was an instant cult classic. Giving the audience something that was never seen before. Frightening and phallic, the creature still stands the test of time.
H.R. Giger is one of the most visionary artists of all time, gifting us with one of the most iconic antagonists in movie history.
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