Following the death of actor Yaphet Kotto earlier this week, Sigourney Weaver honored the actor with a memory from their days working on the set of “Alien.”
“Every day Yaphet Kotto blew me away on the set of ‘Alien,’” Weaver wrote. “He just went for it in every scene, making the stakes higher and higher and giving each scene a terrifying reality. It was a nonstop master class for me and I will always be grateful to him. Rest In Peace Parker…Over and out, Ripley.”
In the 1979 sci fi-horror classic, Kotto’s Dennis Parker, the Nostromo’s chief engineer, is the first person to witness the fully-grown Alien. He also saves Ripley (Weaver), but ultimately is killed by the Alien before they can escape.
Kotto talked about his character’s demise in “Alien” in an IGN interview, “I knew before I opened the script that my character wasn’t going to make it to the end,” he said. “Because I know and film fans know, two things will happen to the brother in any movie like ‘Alien.’ He’s not getting the girl, and he’s not going to make it. He is going to die.”
Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, revelaed his death in a Facebook post on Monday night. “You played a villain on some of your movies but for me you’re a real hero and to a lot of people also,” she wrote. “A good man, a good father, a good husband and a decent human being, very rare to find.”
In addition to “Alien,” Kotto appeared in the 1973 James Bond film “Live and Let Die” as both Caribbean dictator Dr. Kananga and his grotesque alter ego Mr. Big. Following the success of “Live and Let Die” and “Alien,” he had strong roles in the 1980 prison drama “Brubaker” and 1987 action film “The Running Man,” alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Agent Ryan Goldhar confirmed the death of the 81-year-old. He is survived by his wife and six children.
