The 1979 release of Ridley Scott‘s “Alien” revolutionized the genre of science fiction horror movies. Written by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the extraterrestrial-themed film turned aliens into nightmares and launched the careers of Tom Skerritt and Sigourney Weaver.
The “Alien” franchise has a rich history spanning multiple sequels, prequels, and spinoffs, making it a supernatural force to be reckoned with. It’s currently making waves on the small screen, too, as its debut TV show is being developed for FX on Hulu.
We can assist anyone wishing to be cast in an upcoming production of “Alien.” Make this guide your go-to source for information on how to be noticed during an audition and insights into the casting process.
Understanding the ‘Alien’ Franchise: A Brief History
What’s the plot of “Alien”?
The intergalactic story of the Nostromo crew, whose members are entrusted with looking into a message originating from a nearby moon, opens the “Alien” franchise, which is set in 2122. The trip gets deadly when they find a derelict alien spaceship with what appears to be a crop of abandoned eggs on it. A creature emerges and latches onto one crew member’s face, knocking him out in the process.
The eponymous “face hugger” finally perishes after the crew saves their fallen comrade and brings him back to the ship, enabling the crew member to awaken and resume his tasks. The Nostromo crew soon finds out, though, that the creature has made his home within their friend’s body as an extraterrestrial emerges from his chest and begins to hunt down and murder every passenger on board save Ellen Ripley, who is portrayed by Weaver.
The three films that follow, “Aliens” (1986), “Alien 3” (1992), and “Alien Resurrection” (1997), cover more than 200 years after Ripley’s initial encounter and examine what transpires when people contact with the seemingly unstoppable creatures in more tense ways. The crossover treatment for the franchise was applied to “Alien vs. Predator” in 2004 and “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem” in 2007. But with 2012’s “Prometheus” and 2017’s “Alien: Covenant,” which concentrate on the beginnings of the alien life-forms, the franchise went all the way back to the beginning.
While explorers try to discover the beginnings of human life, “Prometheus” takes set thirty years before the first movie and sheds light on an extinct society; “Covenant” describes the experiments that gave rise to the creatures that would eventually become the namesake and face of the immortal films.
Additionally, “Alien: Romulus,” which will be released in 2024, will be set in the years that separate the 1979 original movie from its 1986 sequel.
Meet the Cast of ‘Alien’ Films and TV Series
Hollywood heavyweights such as Weaver (Ripley), Skerritt (Dallas), John Hurt (Kane), Veronica Cartwright (Lambert), Ian Holm (Ash), and Yaphet Kotto (Parker) appeared in the original cast of “Alien.”
Weaver made a comeback as Ripley in “Aliens,” with supporting performances from Paul Reiser as Burke and Bill Paxton as Private Hudson. In addition, Weaver starred in the films “Aliens 3” and “Alien Resurrection,” but in the latter she assumed the role of a clone of her previous persona. Ron Perlman (Johner) and Winona Ryder (Annalee Call) costarred.
The movie “Prometheus” introduced a new cast to the franchise: Guy Pearce (Peter Weyland), Idris Elba (Janek), Michael Fassbender (David), Noomi Rapace (Elizabeth Shaw), and Logan Marshall-Green (Charlie Holloway). Alongside Katherine Waterston as Daniel, Billy Crudup as Orm, and Danny McBride as Tennessee, Fassbender made a comeback in “Alien: Covenant.”
Starring in “Alien: Romulus” are David Jonsson as Andy, Archie Renaux as Tyler, Isabela Merced as Kay, and Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine. Sydney Chandler (Wendy), Alex Lawther (CJ), Samuel Blenkin (Boy Kavalier), Essie Davis (Dame Silvia), and Timothy Olyphant (Kirsh) will all appear in the yet-to-be-titled “Alien” series.
Casting Directors Behind the ‘Alien’ Franchise
Many came after the late Mary Goldberg (“Amadeus,” “The Siege”), who starred in the first film in the “Alien” trilogy. Most recently, “Prometheus” was portrayed by Nina Gold (“Game of Thrones”) and Avy Kaufman (“Succession”), “Covenant” by Carmen Cuba (“Stranger Things”), and “Romulus” by Sydney Shircliff (“Air”) and Mary Vernieu (“Knives Out”).
Nothing is off-limits in Gold’s audition room, as she informed us. “I suppose it’s a safe place to experiment, so in theory, everything should be alright. It’s time to explore new things as long as everyone is treating one other with respect,” she stated. In a similar vein, Kaufman desires surprise.
“It is always so much fun when an actor suggests something that neither the creative team nor I would have thought of. ‘Oh my gosh, you really nailed it,'” she said to us. “It’s exciting when people surprise us and do something that wows us because I want them to be great.”
Cuba, on the other hand, likes to pull off the unexpected; she wants actors to know very little about the audition process. “It’s best if I don’t know anything about them so they can concentrate on the audition. I know there are certain things I do that are extremely specific to me, but if I told you about them, they wouldn’t be as spontaneous for the actor in the room, which would negate the entire purpose,” she said.
How to Find Casting Calls for ‘Alien’ Projects
Although there aren’t any “Alien” productions looking for talent right now, you should bookmark our main horror casting page to stay up to date on the most recent openings.
While you wait for word on a potential second season of the show, we recommend reading our guide on Steps to Audition for Disney if you’re in need of further advice.
Tips to Ace Your ‘Alien’ Audition
Enjoy yourself while working on it. When asked what advice she would give her younger self, Rapace said she would tell Noomi to “chill out and unwind.” “Don’t take yourself so bloody, deadly serious,” she said. “I was very serious. I was treating myself so badly. I was quite hard on myself. I now make an effort to enjoy myself more. In all honesty, I admit that I’m a nerd and that I’m stupid most of the time. CDs want to see the real you, your potential, as soon as you come into the audition room. Rapace was able to achieve success with it, and you can too.”
Plan ahead, but also allow for flexibility. Vernieu stresses that flexibility and preparation go hand in hand during an audition, even though she wants performers to know that there are a plethora of reasons why they could not land a certain job. “I strive to give an actor as much creative freedom as they require to reach their goals.
However, there’s a reason the casting director in the room is telling you to do things a certain way if it’s because the producers are requesting it,” she explained. “Avoid arguing. People occasionally become a little bit rigid about how they’ve prepared it, so once they’re in the room, they need to be able to adjust.”
Ignore the doubters. Unbelievably, Weaver felt rather insecure over the majority of her theater school years because others told her she had no talent. “I used to think, ‘Well, I’m not really an actor,’ even though I always seemed to be getting as much work as everyone else, sometimes more.
I guess I’m an actor now that I’m getting paid for it, etc.,” she said. However, that took a while to happen. And I swear to you, as foolish as it may seem, I never gave it much thought until after my daughter was born: “Why do these evil voices in my ears keep telling me to avoid these kinds of projects?” However, Weaver showed that self-doubt was pointless when she started pushing herself and kept becoming better at what she did.
For which “Alien” projects is filming right now?
TV Guide reported that Olyphant was spotted in Thailand in March, where the show was supposed to film, standing with former “Justified” costar Walter Goggins, who was also there to film his next movie, “The White Lotus.” There is currently no information on whether FX’s “Alien” series has wrapped.
Filming is probably over for the series, which is scheduled to premiere in 2025. However, showrunners told Deadline that the series could extend for more seasons (if viewership permits), so stay tuned for updates on the show’s future prospects!
The film “Alien: Romulus” is scheduled to hit theaters on August 16, 2024, but we wouldn’t be shocked if Hollywood decided to add even more films to the already remarkable canon of the franchise.
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