Who was hiding under the guise of an Alien: How a Yoruba guy reincarnated as an evil monster

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The whole world knows this man, but at the same time almost no one saw his face and does not remember his name. He had a gentle and even character, but his only role in cinema became truly nightmarish: a guy without special education and stunt training managed to create an image that is still considered one of the most terrible in the history of cinema.

Bolaji Badejo was born in Nigeria and comes from the original Yoruba people. People of this nationality are characterized by tall, slender figures, but the boy from early childhood overtook even his tallest friends. According to various sources, by the age of 18, Boladzhi's height was either 208 centimeters, or 218, so he was a real giant.

The father of the future actor served as CEO of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, so the boy received an excellent education. However, in early childhood he was diagnosed with a terrible disease - sickle cell anemia. The inhabitants of the northern regions are almost not familiar with this disease, but in Africa a huge number of people suffer from it. Today it is difficult to judge whether the features of Bolagi's appearance were the result of an illness or whether he was simply unique, but the appearance of his lanky figure was really surprising.

Too long, even for such a huge body, the arms and legs were incredibly thin, but at the same time the young man did not seem awkward. He worked a lot on himself, did physical exercises, so he moved easily and confidently. He really looked all his life, rather, like an alien from another planet, but he did not fall into depression from his non-standard appearance. An incurable disease manifested itself sometimes with bone pain and weakness, parents trembled over a child for whom any infection at an early age could become fatal, peers looked at him with surprise, but Boladzhi's light character helped him cope with all the problems.

The young man did not pay attention to difficulties and strove for one dream. Since childhood, he decided to become an artist-designer. His parents helped him get an education in London, and once in a small pub where a Nigerian with friends celebrated his first victory - receiving a lucrative order, fate suddenly decided to make him a world celebrity in a completely different area.

Peter Archer, the casting director of the film "Alien", poured his professional failure in the same bar: it was not possible to find a suitable actor for the role of an evil alien alien-xenomorph. At first glance, the task seemed uniquely simple - after all, no one would see the face of the monster in the film, so you can stuff anyone into a scary suit, but that was not the case.

Director Ridley Scott, it turns out, had a very clear vision of what his sci-fi villain should look like. This creature was not supposed to look like a man dressed in a scary suit, and after a while the task began to seem unrealistic to the film crew.

However, a drunken Peter Archer, sitting in the most ordinary pub, suddenly saw at the next table exactly what they all desperately needed - a guy who seemed to be a man, but did not look quite like a man. Incredibly long and thin limbs, enormous height, but at the same time - excellent coordination … Some time later, a member of the casting team was already proving to a design student that he really wanted to "shoot him in a movie."

The young man was instantly approved for the role and a difficult period began for him. The Alien costume, created by the famous Swiss artist Giger, was not so easy to operate, and to imitate the "inhuman" plasticity, Bolaji had to return to physical training: he took lessons in the martial art of tai chi, learned sliding movements and habits of a praying mantis, rehearsed a lot in the scenery of a spaceship Nostromo. Filming took him only four months, but it made him a world famous.

Nobody thought that the banal "cosmic horror story", which at the time was rejected by eminent directors, would "shoot" like that. The unique combination of Giger's dark fantasy and talented direction made this film a real event in world cinema. Many awards, including Oscars for visual effects, came as a surprise even to the filmmakers themselves.

Of course, the unusual actor who played the star monster became incredibly popular. Boladzhi began to receive offers from directors - one is more tempting than the other, but the guy was well aware that the path to the cinema would not be easy, because with such an unusual appearance he was only invited to the roles of "aliens" and "giants". He made his choice and returned to his homeland, breaking forever with cinema.

In subsequent years, Bolaji realized his old dream - with the money received for the shooting, he managed to open in Nigeria the country's first real art gallery of the European level. The former "Alien" also took place as an artist - probably, communication with his famous colleague was not in vain. Boladzhi got married and was happily married, he became the father of two children. Unfortunately, in 1992, at the age of 39, the talented artist died. He died of viral pneumonia, which, combined with a congenital disease, knocked him down in just a couple of weeks.

The cultural influence of Ridley Scott's "space horror story" is found today not only in the production of computer books. So, for example, it took a whole journalistic investigation to find out why the gargoyle from Paisley Abbey is so similar to the sinister "Alien"