Famous American Movie “The Allien” Was Played By A Yoruba Young Man, Bolaji Badejo
Bolaji Badejo was born in Lagos August, 23 1953 of Yoruba descent and was the son of the first indigenous director general of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Victor Badejo. Bolaji first studied in Nigeria, then in the United States before finally moving to London to specialize in graphic design.
Badejo was discovered in a Soho pub by a member of director Ridley Scott’s casting team, who had been searching for a candidate to play the titular creature in his science fiction horror film Alien.
Standing at 6 ft 10 in tall, he was chosen to play the part due to his height and “very long legs”. He was described as “mild-mannered” and “withdrawn” on set, and special effects supervisor Nick Allder said “To have been the center of attraction… it was a bit of a shock to him.”
Alien was released in 1979 to significant critical and commercial success, 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.”
The Movie made over $184.7 million at the Box Office.
The success of Alien spawned the Alien franchise. Badejo was offered a role in a sequel, 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.
After his return to Nigeria, Badejo began running his own art gallery in 1983. He died from sickle cell disease in December 22, 1992 at the age of 39.
Source: Google
