Bolaji Badejo: the star who created an icon and then never acted again
It’s not often that a breakout star plays an unforgettable cinematic icon only to never act again. But then again, when that cinematic icon sees you squeezed into a costume with a meter-long mask and slathered in lube, it’s not all that surprising. Bolaji Badejo was the six-foot-seven man behind the teeth of cinema’s most famous alien, the original Xenomorph of Ridley Scott’s Alien. But when the movie wrapped up, he never acted again.
The Xenomorph is an acid-dripping, biomechanical humanoid with a punching extendable jaw and long, vertebrae-like tail. The finished Alien was based on drawings by surreal artist H.R. Giger and created by Italian special effects designer Carlos Rimbaldi.
This is all well known by fans of the film, but what is often overlooked is the feat of the actor who had to become the monster. Especially considering the specific look and movement that Scott was searching for. After trying acrobats and multiple actors in one costume, he decided it must be one incredibly tall, thin man to play his extraterrestrial creation.
Producer Ivor Powell remembers, “We’d had this vision of a praying mantis… we needed somebody incredibly tall with very long legs, so when they crouched down, it gave the impression of an insect.” And special effects supervisor Nick Allder rang Scott one night to tell him he’d found his insect man at a bar in Soho. A Nigerian student studying graphic design in London at the time, Badejo recalled his meeting in Cinefantastique, “As soon as Ridley Scott walked in, he knew he’d found the right person.”
And Badejo was undoubtedly the right person for the role. Training specific muscle groups and attending mime classes, Badejo learnt to move in the slow, almost graceful manner that Scott had envisioned. He also had to navigate the six-foot-seven set while being three inches taller normally and five in the costume. But despite the clearly uncomfortable working conditions, Badejo was a gentleman who kept himself to himself. But then again, in that costume, who can hear you speak?
With all of this effort and patience, Badejo should be as renowned as Sigourney Weaver for playing the titular Alien. A menacing screen presence that took incredible physical effort, he continues to captivate audiences five decades on. But Badejo was apparently “lovely, gentle and quiet”, according to Allder and not one for the limelight.
Instead of once again taking on the creature that played a part in around $100million at the box office, Badejo opted to finish his studies and move back to Nigeria, where he opened an art gallery and raised a family. A humble life for one of cinema’s biggest icons.
