Bolaji Badejo

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.

Bolaji Badejo
In costume as the Alien
Born
Bolaji Badejo

23 August 1953
Lagos, Nigeria
Died22 December 1992 (aged 39)
Lagos, Nigeria
Cause of deathSickle cell disease
NationalityNigerian
OccupationActor, visual artist
Years active1979–1992
Known forPerforming in Alien (1979)
Height208 cm (6 ft 10 in)

Career

Born in Lagos,[3] Badejo was of Yoruba descent[4] and was the son of the director general of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.[2] He first studied in Nigeria, then in the United States before finally moving to London to specialize in graphic design.[2] He was eventually discovered in a Soho pub by a member of Scott's casting team.[5] Standing 6 ft 10 in tall,[2] he was chosen to play the part of the Alien due to his height and "very long legs".

Badejo never returned for the Alien sequels, which used puppetry and later animation instead of suit performers; the original was his only film credit. His family revealed that he returned to Nigeria in 1980 and began running his own art gallery in 1983.[2] He died from sickle cell anaemia at the age of 39.[6]

Filmography
Title Year Role
Alien1979Alien

References
  1. Staff (7 March 2016). "Bolaji Badejo, dos metros y 18 centímetros de extrema delgadez dentro de Alien". Hoy Cinema.
  2. Page, Thomas (7 March 2016). "Bolaji Badejo: The Nigerian giant who played 'Alien'". CNN. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  3. "Top-5 Celebrities Who Were Born In Nigeria". Naij.
  4. Chare, Nicholas (2017). After Francis Bacon: Synaesthesia and Sex in Paint. Oxon: Routledge. p. 164. ISBN 9781409411703.
  5. Keegan, Rebecca (15 December 2009). The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron. Crown/Archetype. ISBN 9780307460332.
  6. "Meet the man behind Alien's Xenomorph: photos show the actors who played movie monsters". The Telegraph. 18 May 2016.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.