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Bolaji Badejo
Nigerian actor (1953–1992) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bolaji Badejo (ⓘ) (23 August 1953 – 22 December 1992) was a Nigerian visual artist[1] and actor. He was known for playing the Alien in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien.[2] He was 208 cm (6 ft 10 inches) tall,[2] a height which convinced Scott to cast him in the role. It is his sole acting credit.
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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 studied in Ethiopia, then in the United States before finally moving to London to specialize in graphic design.[2]
Badejo was discovered in a Soho pub by a member of director Ridley Scott's casting team,[5] who had been searching for a candidate to play the titular creature in his science fiction horror film Alien. Standing at 208 cm (6 ft 10 inches) in height,[2] he was chosen to play the part due to his height and "very long legs".[6][7] He was described as "mild-mannered" and "withdrawn" on set, and special effects supervisor Nick Allder said "To have been the center of attraction… it was a bit of a shock to him."[8][9] Alien was released in 1979 to significant critical and commercial success,[10][11][12] and Screen Rant wrote in a retrospective review that he "effectively brought the Xenomorph to life ... Badejo certainly helped make the creature one of the most recognizable monsters in horror."[13]
The success of Alien spawned the Alien franchise. Badejo was offered a role in a sequel,[8] but moved back to Nigeria in 1980; this led to the sequels incorporating more puppetry and animation alongside several suit performers. Alien is his sole film credit.[14][13]
After his return to Nigeria, Badejo began running his own art gallery in 1983.[2][9] He died from sickle cell disease at the age of 39 in 1992.[14]
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