Sigourney Weaver Reflects on Career from ‘Alien’ to ‘Avatar’ Before Venice Honor

EXCLUSIVE: Two years ago, Sigourney Weaver handed the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to filmmaker Paul Schrader. In a rare interview, she divulges that she never imagined she would be receiving the same award two years later.

Reflecting on her illustrious career, it’s clear that few actresses have made such a significant impact in cinema, particularly in iconic sci-fi franchises like “Alien,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Avatar.” Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of Ellen Ripley set a new standard for heroines in the action and sci-fi genres.

Despite her success, Weaver’s achievement goes beyond her roles in mainstream movies. The Venice festival director, Alberto Barbera, highlighted her remarkable range and ability to sidestep labels, praising her choices from genre films to comedies, art-house films to children’s movies.

Weaver becomes only the third American actress to receive Venice’s career award, following Jane Fonda and Jamie Lee Curtis. Despite her showbiz background—her mother was an actress, and her father was former NBC president Pat Weaver—Sigourney’s rise was not guaranteed. Teachers at Yale once advised her to stick to comedy, dismissing her talent.

However, Weaver’s filmography from 1979-89 is impressive, with hits like “Alien,” “Ghostbusters,” “Aliens,” “Working Girl,” “Gorillas in the Mist,” and “Ghostbusters II.” She has collaborated with esteemed directors, including Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and Woody Allen, and is recognized for her theater and conservation efforts alongside her film roles.

In this exclusive discussion, Weaver shares insights on the “Alien” franchise, her high-profile hits and misses, and future projects, including her first West End theater gig and her entry into the Star Wars universe.

DEADLINE: Congratulations on this accolade, Sigourney. What does the Venice Film Festival mean to you?

SIGOURNEY WEAVER: Thank you very much. It’s very exciting. From the first time I went to Venice, it has been a very meaningful festival to me. It is my favorite festival. I think it’s the festival that champions the art of making film, perhaps more so than the business of making film… I want to say how grateful I am to the festival for this wonderful award, because for me, it represents an embrace of actors who aren’t willing to be put in a box.

The recognition of what actors can bring to the table has changed over the years. Over the course of my career, it has been wonderful to see the influx of women into so many departments, which has brought a lot of oxygen into the business. And certainly, actors are listened to more today; we’re not only considered as commodities, and I think that’s very exciting.

DEADLINE: Alien wasn’t in Competition, was it?

WEAVER: No, maybe that’s why we had so much fun! Having given this same award to Paul Schrader two years ago, I feel very honored because I always thought of it as an award for filmmakers, wonderful filmmakers, so I couldn’t be happier.

DEADLINE: It’s always remarkable to be reminded that Alien was virtually your first film role. Did you have any inkling at the time just how big of an impact the film, and Ellen Ripley, would have?

WEAVER: I had come from off-Broadway, so to me, this was an “off of Broadway” project. It was dark, unique, very original, very physically arresting. As soon as I saw the designs, when I met Ridley Scott and he showed me these [H.R.] Giger and Carlo Rambaldi designs, I realized I’d never seen anything like it before. I felt like a member of the crew the entire time—I’m glad I didn’t see it as a huge breakthrough opportunity.

DEADLINE: For many, Alien is probably the greatest sci-fi film ever made…

WEAVER: Ripley’s character is almost an everyman character [most of the characters were written as unisex so they could be played by male or female actors]. At a certain point, you even forget that it’s a woman. You just know it’s Ripley and you’re hoping she survives.

DEADLINE: By the time Aliens came out, you were described as “perhaps the only woman who could open a major action film.” Did you feel a weight or burden on you around that time?

WEAVER: I didn’t. I suppose I don’t think of Alien as an action film. I always saw it as a film about survival. I’ve always thought about characters rather than a specific genre.

DEADLINE: I was reading about how you were supposed to have a much bigger role in Annie Hall but couldn’t due to theater commitments…

WEAVER: Yes, I was originally meant to have a much bigger part but I had a theater commitment on Christopher Durang’s Titanic [a typically surreal Durang play in which Weaver played a woman who hides a hedgehog in her vagina] that meant I couldn’t make it work.

DEADLINE: You would go on the most amazing run in the ’80s from Ghostbusters to Aliens, and Gorillas in the Mist to Working Girl. The run included working with Ridley Scott and James Cameron (for the first time). How were their approaches different as filmmakers?

WEAVER: On Alien, Ridley Scott’s approach was claustrophobic and unsettling. Aliens was a more action-oriented, muscular film with a conventional story. All four Alien filmmakers I worked with—Scott, Cameron, David Fincher, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet—each made the material their own.

DEADLINE: When Ghostbusters came along, were you worried that the film’s levity may in any way hurt what you had achieved on Alien?

WEAVER: On the contrary, I was so relieved! Ripley was so serious, you may even say humorless in her circumstances. I had come from comedic theater and that’s where I felt most comfortable.

DEADLINE: Gorillas in the Mist was another transformative film. What did you learn from that experience?

WEAVER: For me, it was the beginning of my understanding that animals and other creatures in our world are equal citizens with us. It was sheer bliss to have the babies jumping up and down on me and urinating on me. It was essential to make the film without infringing on the animals’ way of life.

DEADLINE: In the same year, Working Girl was another big hit. What do you recall about working with Mike Nichols, and what made him so revered among actors?

WEAVER: I loved working with Mike. He knew so much about the human condition, and just how to tell a story. I still absolutely adore that film for the hairstyles alone, and the clothes, and everything else.

DEADLINE: The anticipated third Alien film by David Fincher kicked off the ’90s. Despite being well-documented that the production faced challenges, what do you recall from filming?

WEAVER: I could feel that David had to get on the phone and fight every day for us to shoot what he wanted to the next day. I love working with him, and I think we made a good film.

DEADLINE: What was the set like on The Ice Storm by Ang Lee?

WEAVER: It was all New York actors. We all knew each other, and it was a lot of fun. Despite it being one of Ang Lee’s early films in English, he communicated effectively with all of us in very few words.

DEADLINE: A decade after that you returned to work with Jim Cameron on Avatar. Were you surprised by its unprecedented success?

WEAVER: I couldn’t imagine how he would ever make a film that looked like this and had these elements. But I’m so glad for Jim, and for the success of these films, which has meant we’re able to keep making them.

DEADLINE: So you haven’t started working on four and five yet?

WEAVER: They’re written. We know what they are. They’re really good.

DEADLINE: Cameron said recently “no one ever dies in science fiction.” Is there a future for Ellen Ripley on screen?

WEAVER: I feel like she’s never far away from me, but on the other hand, I have yet to read a script that said “you have got to do this.” For me, she is in this other dimension, safe from the Alien for the time being.

DEADLINE: What’s next for you? You have movies Dust Bunny and The Gorge in post-production…

WEAVER: Yes, I’m very excited about Dust Bunny. Bryan Fuller is very talented and working with Mads Mikkelsen was wonderful. I’m also coming to London to play Prospero in The Tempest next year. It has a lot to say to today’s audiences about nature, the environment, and the psychological space that the play’s island represents.

DEADLINE: We don’t know the rest of the cast yet, do we?

WEAVER: Selina Cadell is also in it. That’s the only other name I’m aware of.

DEADLINE: And the next movie you’re going to film?

WEAVER: I’m playing a role in The Mandalorian & Grogu [which will be directed by Jon Favreau]. I got to meet Grogu for the first time the other day. I’m filming that before I go to London for The Tempest next year.

DEADLINE: And then your work conquering all the major sci-fi franchises will be complete! Is it a fun part?

WEAVER: Very. I’m looking forward to it. I can’t say much about it right now but it’s fun to bounce between all these different universes.

DEADLINE: Is there a Ghostbusters return on the horizon?

WEAVER: Not that I’m aware of.