The recipient of numerous accolades including two Golden Globes and a Grammy, Sigourney Weaver is undoubtedly one of the best actresses in Hollywood. She is well-known for her diverse filmography which comprises films like Alien and Working Girl; while the former is a sci-fi horror, the latter is a romantic comedy-drama.
Weaver rose to fame with her performance as Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott’s 1979 smash hit Alien. She reprised her role in the three sequels after the first movie’s success. It is hard to picture any other actress as Ellen in her place. It might be surprising for some that a different award-winning actress was considered for the role once.
The Actress That Could Have Appeared as Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley in Alien
Alien, released in 1979, follows the crew of a spaceship named Nostromo who come across a mysterious and deadly alien creature after investigating a distress signal on a remote planet. Widely considered one of the greatest sci-fi and horror films, the film spawned an entire franchise.
Sigourney Weaver famously played the role of Ellen Ripley, a crew member of Nostromo. Another actress considered for the role of Ellen was Meryl Streep (via The Hollywood Reporter). Although Streep and Weaver were classmates at Yale Drama School and refined the perceptions of actresses in the ’80s, Streep gained fame in Hollywood much sooner than her former classmate.
At Yale, while Meryl Streep was a favorite among the teachers, Weaver was labeled “talentless” by the same teachers (via Backstage). This resulted in unprecedented rivalry between the two classmates with Streep winning out the dramatic roles in school productions and Weaver turning her focus to cabaret and comedy.
Director Ridley Scott needed the actors, who were going to portray the seven human characters of the movie, to carry the responsibility of the acting on themselves so that he could focus on the movie’s production.
By the time Weaver was cast as Ellen, The Devil Wears Prada star had already been nominated for Oscars for Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie’s Choice. So, casting Streep would have been a no-brainer. However, the unfortunate demise of her partner John Cazale (The Godfather) due to lung cancer in 1978 took an emotional toll on the actress. So, they decided not to court Streep and cast Weaver as Ripley.
Sigourney Weaver Felt Alien 3 Should Have Been Ellen Ripley’s Last Appearance in the Franchise
The Ghostbusters actress evidently did an outstanding job as Ellen and continued to do so in the three sequels, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien: Resurrection. While Aliens was directed by James Cameron, the other two were directed by David Fincher. Alien 3 was nearly not as successful as its predecessors and the next movie suffered the same fate.
That being said, Weaver’s personal opinion was that Ellen’s story should have ended with Alien 3. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, she discussed her character:
“There’s only so much bad luck that a person can have. For her to continue to wake up and confront the alien and resolve the situation, then go back to sleep and wake up to yet another situation — to me, it’s a burden on the whole science-fiction premise of the alien.”
At the end of Alien 3, Ripley throws herself into a burning furnace to destroy the Alien Queen embryo inside her in an attempt to the Weyland-Yutani corporation from weaponizing it. Despite this, she returns in the next movie as a clone of herself.
All Alien movies are available for streaming on Hulu.
