9 Horror Movies That Made Actors QUIT Forever

Hailed by many as the jewel in the crown of the Alien film franchise, James Cameron's Aliens (1986) sees Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) embark on a return mission to LV-426, where xenomorphs have once again taken over. Finding only one survivor – nine-year-old Newt (Carrie Henn) – Ripley and a team of marines fight off an army of aliens in order to escape with their lives.

One of the elements which sets Aliens apart from the other films is Ripley's relationship with Newt. This emotional tether keeps the action grounded, relatable and tense, and by the film's conclusion, Ripley, Newt and Hicks (Michael Biehn) survive the ordeal as something of a makeshift family unit, entering stasis for a return journey to Earth.

But, in one of the biggest betrayals in film history, Newt dies off-camera in the opening of David Fincher's Alien Cubed (1992), as the survivors of Aliens crash to the surface of Fiorina 161. Rather than a narrative trick designed to hit us where it hurts, this turn of events is the result of Henn quitting acting after Aliens. Global fame is a lot to handle for a child, and she wanted a normal life with real friends rather than relying on those who were only interested in her fame. Thus, she banked her money and never looked back.