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Sigourney Weaver is an important character actress. Known for her work in the "Alien" movies and more, Weaver has long been linked to strong women who were capable of overcoming any odds. In a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, where she was this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Weaver got emotional after a journalist linked her work in cinema to the rise of political figures like Kamala Harris.
The journalist asked Weaver about the power of her character Ripley, which she played on four separate occasions for the "Alien" franchise, and how cinema and the stories we consume “can make it possible that a woman like Kamala Harris can become president of the United States.”
Weaver was caught off guard by the question and was instantly emotional. “To think for one moment that my work would have anything to do with her rise makes me very happy, actually, because it’s true,” she said. “I have so many women who come and thank me.”
“Sorry, I need my vodka," she said as she choked up and had a drink of water.
You can watch the full exchange below.
Weaver's experience in Hollywood and how the industry has changed with time
Weaver also spoke about her experience aging in Hollywood and how writers are now seeing women as people. “Suddenly they decided that older women could actually play interesting characters,” she said. “We stopped being a joke and the mother-in-law, and began becoming real people.”
“My character was a person, not a woman," she said of Ripley, going on to praise the writers of "Alien," David Giler and Walter Hill.
"They are two of the very few writers who can write a script as just a person. You don’t see her having to be girly or womanly or any of these other ideas, which are all great, but women can be everything.”
“I got to play what I realize now was an every-person part. She is all of us. She is what you become when you have to find the ingenuity and don’t even have the time to be brave. Women all over the world are at the frontline.”