You don't need any film experience to take on the title role in an "Alien" film: you just have to be 7 feet or taller. Stick around to find out what the final boss of "Alien: Romulus" looks like under all those prosthetics.
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00:00You don't need any film experience to take on the title role in an Alien film, you just
00:06have to be seven feet or taller.
00:08Stick around to find out what the final boss of Alien Romulus looks like under all those
00:13prosthetics.
00:15There are plenty of familiar frights in director Fede Alvarez's new take on the alien mythology
00:21Alien Romulus.
00:23Longtime fans of the franchise can draw lots of parallels between Ridley Scott's 1979 original
00:29and the series' seventh mainline installment, but one new element is the creature that some
00:34have come to call the Xenoman.
00:36This nightmare monster, simply called the Offspring in the film's credits, was born
00:41of alien and human DNA.
00:44It's a hulking terror that was brought to life not just through CGI, but with good old-fashioned
00:49makeup, practical effects, and an actual human actor by the name of Robert Bobrowski.
00:56Standing at 7 feet 7 inches, Bobrowski was born in Arad, Romania.
01:01He reached literally incredible heights at a young age, standing at 6 feet 2 inches when
01:07he was only 8 years old, before gaining another foot at the age of 12.
01:11A former basketball player who moved from Arad to Geneva, Ohio in 2016, Bobrowski attended
01:18Rochester Christian University in 2020, before returning home to take more classes in Romania.
01:24Naturally, his physical features made him an ideal fit for the menacing hybrid.
01:29Get it away from me!
01:31Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!
01:35It turns out that Bobrowski's height is something that runs in the family.
01:39Robert's father, former ballplayer Zygmunt, is over 7 feet tall, while his mother Brunhilde,
01:45who played volleyball and handball, stands at 6 feet 2 inches.
01:49While he was confirmed to not have any hormonal or growth issues, the young Romanian was limited
01:55when it came to playing on the court, suffering from issues with his movement and stamina.
02:00He also dealt with scoliosis and lower back issues, which made him unsuitable to play
02:05basketball professionally.
02:07Thankfully, these issues didn't stop Bobrowski from putting on a creepy suit and taking on
02:12Kaylee Spaney's protagonist character in the final act of Alien Romulus.
02:17If his IMDb page is to be believed, the sci-fi sequel is his first film appearance.
02:23Robert Bobrowski has big shoes to fill, both figuratively and literally, as one of several
02:29people who have acted as a Xenomorph on screen.
02:32The first to strike from the shadows came in 1979, when Ridley Scott enlisted Balaji
02:37Badejo to pick off the crew of the Nostromo one by one.
02:41Badejo was a 6-foot, 10-inch-tall graphic designer who was discovered in a London pub
02:46in Soho by a casting director enamored by Badejo's long legs.
02:51Like Bobrowski, he took on the role with no previous acting experience.
02:56Whatever he provided was more than enough, though, as Badejo was instrumental in bringing
03:01one of movie history's most terrifying characters to life.
03:04While Bobrowski's face was covered in makeup and prosthetics, Badejo donned the Alien's
03:09trademark long, tubular head, as well as an entire bodysuit of tubes and biomechanical
03:15piping.
03:16During filming, actor Tom Skerritt realized that his co-star was unable to sit down in
03:21the suit, leading the crew to build a swing for Badejo to park himself between takes.
03:26Following the film's success, Badejo was asked to return for a sequel, but instead he went
03:31back home to Nigeria, where he later opened an art gallery.
03:34Sadly, Badejo passed away in 1992 due to complications from sickle cell anemia.
03:39He was just 39 years old, even though Alien was his only acting credit.
03:44He left behind some legendary and large footsteps for Bobrowski to follow in.