20 Things You Didn't Know About Your Favourite Horror Movies

The lore and reputation surrounding the Alien franchise usually centers around one name: Sigourney Weaver. As Ellen Ripley, Weaver is the flesh-and-blood face of the series, having first cemented her legacy as a revolutionary female badass in Ridley Scott’s 1979 series-starter. Though, at one point the actress came extremely close to not making it through the entire production.

At the beginning of the shoot, Weaver began shooting several scenes with Jones the cat (who was actually played by four different cats) and started to break out in a horrible rash. She came to believe that she was having an allergic reaction to these felines and would therefore have to leave the film; being her first on-screen role, she figured she was easier to replace, since the cats had all been specially trained.

Fortunately it was later learned that Weaver was allergic not to the cats but to the glycerine that was being sprayed on her skin to make her look hot and sweaty. By removing the glycerin she was able to complete filming without a hitch and the genre managed to keep what is arguably its greatest female character.