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'Aliens' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Following the success of Ridley Scott's first Alien installment in 1979, James Cameron took over the reins as director for the 1986 sequel. See what the lauded cast of the sci-fi action film has been up to since landing on LV-426

Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley

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Hollywood treasure and legendary "final girl" Sigourney Weaver played Ripley in four (yes, four!) Alien movies. The sequel marked Weaver's first Oscar nomination for Best Actress in 1987. She would receive two Oscar nominations in 1989 for her performances in Working Girl and Gorillas in the Mist.

After 1986's Aliens, she kept the ball rolling with memorable performances in Copycat (1995), Galaxy Quest (1999), Heartbreakers (2001), The Village (2004), Vantage Point (2008), Abduction (2011), The Cabin in the Woods (2011), A Monster Calls (2016) and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017). Weaver demonstrated her range when she lent her voice to Pixar favorites like WALL-E (2008) and Finding Dory (2016).

Weaver also starred in other blockbuster franchises like Ghostbusters and Avatar. In addition to the upcoming Avatar installments, Weaver is slated to appear on the series adaptation of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and in the romantic-action film The Gorge alongside Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy.

In 2011, Weaver won a Grammy for best spoken word album for her narration of Jon Stewart's Earth (The Book). The actress has also received four individual Emmy nominations for her performances in Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997), Prayers for Bobby (2009), Political Animals (2012) and Secrets of the Whales (2021).

She is also a pro onstage, participating in several theater festivals and productions such as The Merchant of Venice, The Mercy Seat and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

Weaver has been married to theater director Jim Simpson since October 1984, and the couple share a daughter, Charlotte.

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Michael Biehn as Corporal Dwayne Hicks

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Having already earned a name for himself in the breakout role of Kyle Reese in 1984's The Terminator — also directed by James Cameron —Michael Biehn continued to work after surviving the xenomorph attack in Aliens. He reprised the role in Alien 3.

Following his starring role in the sequels, Biehn appeared in Tombstone (1993), The Art of War (2000), Clockstoppers (2002), Grindhouse (2007) and Puncture (2011). Despite his string of big-screen hits, much of Biehn's résumé is comprised of '90s TV films. He has appeared on The Magnificent Seven, Adventure Inc., Hawaii, Criminal Minds, The Walking Dead and The Mandalorian, where he played the human mercenary Lang.

Biehn has been married to actress Jennifer Blanc since 2015, with whom he co-produced and costarred in 2011's The Victim. Together, they share son Dashiell King. He has four other children from previous relationships.

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Lance Henriksen as Bishop

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Since his turn as Bishop in the Alien franchise, Lance Henriksen has been a movie mainstay — appearing in Near Dark (1987), Pumpkinhead (1988), Dead Man (1995), Phantom (2013), Mom and Dad (2017), Falling (2020) and The Artifice Girl (2022).

His prolific résumé includes series like Millennium, The Blacklist and Big Dogs. In 2023, he guest-starred on the Kiefer Sutherland-led spy thriller Rabbit Hole. He has also lent his voice to The Legend of Kora and Tron: Uprising, among others.

Henriksen co-authored an autobiography, Not Bad for a Human, and a horror-comic book series, To Hell You Ride, set in a small Colorado mountain town. He's also a muralist and has been making pottery since the '60s.

The actor wed Louise Lunde in 2006, with whom he shares two sons. Henriksen also has two daughters from his previous marriages.

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Paul Reiser as Carter Burke

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Paul Reiser, whose corporate weasel character was the most despicable non-alien entity of the film, has continued to work steadily in Hollywood. Reiser went on to appear in Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Mr. Write (1994), Funny People (2009), Behind the Candelabra (2013), Whiplash (2014), Life After Beth (2014), Concussion (2015), The Little Hours (2017), The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) and Horsegirl (2020).

In 2011, the acclaimed actor created, produced and starred in the eponymous NBC sitcom, The Paul Reiser Show. However, it was canceled after only two episodes due to low ratings. He was a cast member of shows like Married, Red Oaks, Fosse/Verdon, The Kominsky Method, The Boys and Reboot. Reiser is also known for his role as Paul Buchman on the long-running series Mad About You costarring Helen Hunt, for which he earned 10 Emmy nominations throughout its eight-season run. In 2021, he received his 11th Emmy nod for outstanding guest actor on The Kominsky Method. Since 2017, Reiser has had a recurring role on Stranger Things as Dr. Sam Owens.

He has penned three books, including Couplehood, Babyhood and Familyhood, all chronicling his experiences with marriage and parenting.

Reiser has been married to Paula Ravets since August 1988, with whom he shares two sons: Ezra Samuel and Leon

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Bill Paxton as Private William Hudson

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Bill Paxton cemented himself as one of sci-fi's most iconic figures with three little words: "Game over, man!"

He kept busy after Aliens, appearing in Near Dark (1987), Next of Kin (1989), Predator 2 (1990), Tombstone (1993), True Lies (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996), Titanic (1997), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Nightcrawler (2014), Term Life (2016) and The Circle (2017).

Paxton also starred on HBO's Big Love from 2006 to 2011 as Mormon patriarch Bill Henrickson — a role that earned him three Golden Globe nominations. In 2012, Paxton scored an Emmy nomination for playing Randall McCoy on Hatfields & McCoys. Other notable TV credits include Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Texas Rising and Training Day.

The beloved actor died in February 2017 following a stroke days after undergoing open-heart surgery. His family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the surgeon who performed the operation and Cedar-Sinai Hospital, citing "negligent diagnosis, management and treatment." In an answer to the wrongful death complaint obtained by The Blast, the surgeon and hospital denied responsibility in May 2018. The Paxton family reached a settlement in August 2022.

Paxton was survived by his wife, Louise Newbury, whom he married in 1987. The couple shared two children: son James (also an actor) and daughter Lydia.

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Jenette Goldstein as Private Jenette Vasquez

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Perhaps the most memorable team member of the Aliens' space marines was Jenette Goldstein's Private Vasquez — the fierce member of the First Squad with the cool smart gun (Fun fact: She shares the same first name as the character).

The role was Goldstein's first film credit. Following Aliens, she reunited with her former costars Henriksen and Paxton in 1987's Near Dark. The actress went on to appear in other action flicks and sci-fi favorites like Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Star Trek: Generations (1994). Goldstein also guest-starred on two episodes of ER and 24 and voiced the USS Enterprise computer on Star Trek: Short Treks in 2019.

In 2009, she founded the lingerie brand, Jenette Bras, providing undergarments and shapewear for women with larger bust sizes. Goldstein is married to painter Aaron Noble

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Carrie Henn as Rebecca "Newt" Jorden

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Carrie Henn portrayed 9-year-old Newt, a shell-shocked alien massacre survivor. Though sci-fi fans and critics praised her performance in Aliens, Henn has not returned to the big screen. Instead, she became an elementary school teacher in her native city of Atwater, California.

"That's what a lot of people have a hard time understanding," Henn told Tulsa World in August 2016 of her decision to quit acting. "They don't understand that [acting] wasn't my passion. It wasn't my dream. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was it an amazing experience? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Of course. But it wasn't my passion. Teaching was."

Despite the career switch, the former child actor has continued to support the franchise and her costars, celebrating the 20th-anniversary screening of Aliens in December 2006 in Los Angeles and reuniting with the cast and crew in 2016. Henn has also revealed she would be open to appearing in a future installment.

"As a busy wife, mom and teacher, I'm not sure I would have the time to devote to reprising my role," she told Black Gate in February 2018. "However, I would love to do a cameo in an Alien franchise film if the opportunity arose."

Henn has been married to her college sweetheart, Nathan Kutcher, since July 2005. The couple has one child together.