25 Things You Didn't Know About Alien
17. Ridley Scott's Sons Feature In The Space Jockey Scene
Whilst the Space Jockey scene was ultimately allowed by 20th Century Fox, the artists on the film did use one particular nifty trick to reduce the cost of the massive prop. The Space Jockey, despite looking absolutely massive, isn't quite as big as one might think.
The Jockey was built on a smaller scale than its design, and rather than have John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright and Tom Skerritt shot against the prop, Ridley Scott's two sons and the child of another crew member were used instead, wearing scaled-down replicas of the crew's space suits.