Summary
Newt, played by Carrie Henn inAliens, is as enduring a science fiction character as any and though Henn left the industry, she hasn’t forgotten her roots.Whether someone prefersAlienorAliensmorecan say a lot about that person. Despite one being the immediate sequel to the other, they are very different movies, withAliencloser to a horror film andAliensmore akin to an action-adventure.Both are some of the best movies in science fiction and horror, filled with terrifying creatures and thrilling setpieces.
What makesAlienssuch a classic, however, is the relationship between Newt and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Newt is the last survivor of the terraforming colony LV-426, with everyone else being massacred by the Xenomorphs.Ripley bonds with Newt and risks her life to protect the young girl, and Newt manages to save Ripley, too. It’s one of thebest mother-daughter relationships in movies, even though they’ve only known each other for a few days. Despite playing the memorable character, Henn never acted again afterAliens.
The Xenomorph Queen In Aliens 1986 Explained
James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) introduced the Xenomorph Queen, a special type of Xenomorph that would be revisited in other Alien movies and comics.
Carrie Henn Left Hollywood Because She Never Intended To Act After Aliens
Carrie Henn was cast as Newt after casting intern Sarah Jackson came to her elementary school in England and began taking pictures of kids she would like to audition (viaAVPGalaxy). Henn talked about the audition process and how her brother was also cast in the film as Timmy Jorden,
“I did a lot of the scenes. I do remember at first a lot of the auditions happened at my elementary school in one of the rooms and so we go there sort of after school and I do my whatever scene they had. I know a couple of times my mom would take me and obviously my brother would have to come with and be stuck sitting out in the hallway. So sometimes they’d invite him to come in and do the scene and that’s how he actually got the part of my brother in the movie was because he had done so many of the scenes with me.”
Henn then made it to the next stage of tryouts which involved meeting James Cameron and getting a paid-for field trip with her family,
“They wanted to have us all go to London for auditions and I guess probably maybe to get to know us a little bit and our personalities. I remember bits and pieces of that one and so they actually hired a tour bus and all the families and the girls, they took us all to London and we met with James Cameron…. They actually dropped us off at the studios and then they took all the families out to go do things in London and then they came back and obviously we went home.”
That led to Henn reaching the “finals” of the acting call, as she was one of the two last people in contention for the role,
“Shortly after that we got a phone call and said that it was between myself and a girl in the States. It was just down to the two of us and so they were actually flying Sigourney over… So I remember going to that interview and just immediately she and I kind of hit it off and towards the end I asked for her autograph.”
Henn did not even realize the significance of her role until after filming started, and was slightly confused by the whole process,
“To be honest with you, I don’t know if I completely understood the process of what was going on and we thought it was a small part in the movie. We didn’t realize that it was as big of a part as it was. I mean we were kind of clueless so I guess everybody was kind of laughing because of how well she and I had kind of hit it off. I guess they pretty much knew that I was gonna get the part then anyways and then shortly after they called and told us we had the part.”
Despite the great experience of getting the role, and her excellent job in the film,Henn opted out of the industry right afterAliens. Henn never really had plans to be an actor (viaThe Sun),
“That’s what a lot of people have a hard time understanding. They don’t understand that [acting] wasn’t my passion. It wasn’t my dream. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was it an amazing experience? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Of course.”
Henn’s work onAliensis critical to making that film work. She’s not helpless and whiny as many children can be in horror movies. Newt is tough and resourceful, and her connection with Ripley is real.Henn had a lot of natural talent as an actor and probably could have continued on that career path, but she had other dreams, and it’s a gift that she was able to pursue them, and still have a memorable experience when she was young.
Newt is played by Danielle Edmond inAlien 3for a brief moment.
Henn Followed Her Dream Of Becoming A Teacher (But She Hasn’t Forgotten Her Aliens Fans)
Carrie Henn Posts Frequently About The Fan Events She Attends
Henn never wanted to be an actor, she wanted to be a teacher, as she said (viaThe Sun),
“But it [acting] wasn’t my passion. Teaching was. As a child, I always enjoyed sort of lining up my dolls, especially my Cabbage Patch Kid and teaching to them and I really enjoyed that kind of stuff.”
She did end up following her dreams and graduated from college, becoming a school teacher at Shaffer Elementary, in Atwater, California. It’s unclear where Henn currently teaches, but shared anInstagrampost in February 2021, of herself holding a mug that says, “Best Teacher Ever” and she captioned it with the hashtag#teacherlife, so teaching is still clearly a part of her life.
Aliensremains a big part of Henn’s life as well, and her Instagram is filled with her appearances at fan conventions, comic cons, and other events where she signs photos of Newt, takes pictures with fans, and happily answers the most burning questions.
It seems that everything worked out perfectly for Carrie Henn. She toldTooFabin 2016,
“You would think I’d have nightmares about it, people don’t quite understand why I don’t, but I think it’s because they made it into such a fun experience for me. It was just amazing. I got to go down that huge slide, and James Cameron said, ‘If you do this right, it’s all yours.'”
Henn got the best of both worlds. She got to star inAliensand become a beloved science fiction character, and she got to follow her dream of being a teacher, all while still making fans of the sci-fi franchise delighted with her many public appearances.
