Honestly, looking back at the Alien vs Predator cast feels like opening a time capsule from a very specific era of Hollywood. It was 2004. Superheroes hadn't quite swallowed the world yet. We were still in that "versus" craze where studios thought smashing two legendary monsters together was the peak of cinema.
Some people hate this movie. I get it. But there is something undeniably charming about the group of actors they threw into that Antarctic meat grinder. They weren't just random redshirts. Well, most of them were, but they were talented redshirts. You had a future Oscar nominee, a sci-fi legend, and an Italian heartthrob all trying to look busy while guys in rubber suits hit each other in the background.
The Face of the Expedition: Sanaa Lathan as Lex Woods
When they were putting together the Alien vs Predator cast, they needed a lead who could feasibly survive a three-way war between humans, Xenomorphs, and Yautja. Enter Sanaa Lathan. Before she was Alexa "Lex" Woods, she was mostly known for Love & Basketball and Brown Sugar.
Casting her was a smart move. She brought a grounded, gritty energy to a movie that could have easily felt like a cheap video game adaptation. Lex wasn't a soldier; she was a guide. She was the one telling the billionaires, "Hey, don't go down there, you'll literally die," and then having to save them when they inevitably went down there and started dying.
Her chemistry with the Predator—specifically the one nicknamed Scar—is the weird emotional heart of the film. It's basically a buddy-cop movie by the third act. She’s out there with a spear made of an Alien tail and a shield made of a Xenomorph skull. It’s ridiculous. It’s awesome. Lathan played it straight, which is why it works. If she had winked at the camera once, the whole thing would have fallen apart.
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The Legend Returns: Lance Henriksen as Charles Bishop Weyland
This was the big one for the fans. You can't talk about the Alien vs Predator cast without mentioning Lance Henriksen. Paul W.S. Anderson, the director, knew he needed a bridge to the original Alien films.
Henriksen played Bishop the android in Aliens and Alien 3. In AvP, he plays Charles Bishop Weyland, the billionaire founder of Weyland Industries. The idea was that the future androids were built in his image. It’s a cool bit of lore that actually ties the franchises together in a way that feels organic.
Weyland is dying of cancer in the film. He’s looking for a legacy. Henriksen has this incredible, gravelly voice and those deep-set eyes that make you believe he’s a man who has seen everything. When he stands his ground against a Predator with a makeshift flamethrower? That’s peak cinema. He knew he was going to die, but he wanted to go out doing something "memorable."
The Rest of the Meat... I Mean, Crew
The supporting Alien vs Predator cast was surprisingly deep. You've got:
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- Raoul Bova (Sebastian de Rosa): The Italian archaeologist. He was the "language guy." Every movie like this needs someone to read the hieroglyphs and explain why everything is exploding. Bova brought a lot of soul to a character whose primary job was being "the guy who isn't Lex."
- Ewen Bremner (Graeme Miller): You probably recognize him as Spud from Trainspotting. He played the eccentric chemical engineer. He provided the few moments of levity before things got... messy.
- Colin Salmon (Maxwell Stafford): The ultimate "tough guy in a suit." He’s been in Bond movies and Resident Evil. He plays Weyland’s right-hand man and security expert. He does exactly what you expect: looks cool, carries a big gun, and gets snatched into the ceiling.
The Guys in the Suits: Ian Whyte and Tom Woodruff Jr.
We have to give credit to the performers you never actually see. Ian Whyte played all the Predators in the film. He’s 7-foot-1. Imagine being that tall and having to move like a lethal hunter while wearing 100 pounds of latex and animatronics. He gave the Predators—especially Scar—a personality through body language alone.
On the other side, you had Tom Woodruff Jr. as the lead Alien (the one fans call "Grid" because of the net scars on its head). Woodruff is a legend in the creature effects world. He’s been playing the Xenomorph since the late 80s. When you see those two fighting, it isn't just CGI. It's two incredibly skilled physical actors beating the hell out of each other on a soundstage in Prague.
Why the Casting Matters 20 Years Later
The Alien vs Predator cast succeeded because they didn't treat the material like "trashy sci-fi." They treated it like a drama that just happened to have monsters in it.
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People still debate if AvP is canon. After Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the timeline got messy. Ridley Scott basically ignored the Weyland backstory from this movie. But for a lot of us, Lance Henriksen is the origin of that company.
The movie works because of the people. It’s a claustrophobic, dark, and damp thriller that relies on you caring when someone gets chest-burst. Without Lathan’s grit or Henriksen’s gravitas, this would have just been another forgotten bargain bin DVD. Instead, it’s a cult classic that still looks better than some of the CGI-heavy messes we get today.
Actionable Next Steps for AvP Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of the Alien vs Predator cast and the lore they helped build, start here:
- Watch the Extended Cut: If you’ve only seen the theatrical version, you’re missing some crucial character beats, especially for Weyland and Lex. It fleshes out the motivations of the team much better.
- Check out "Aliens: Bug Hunt": This is an anthology book that features stories about the characters and the universe. It helps bridge the gap between the different eras of the franchise.
- Follow the Practical Effects: Look up behind-the-scenes footage of Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis (ADI). Seeing how they built the suits for the Alien vs Predator cast to wear will make you appreciate the film on a technical level you might have missed.
- Explore the Machiko Noguchi comics: Sanaa Lathan’s character, Lex, was heavily inspired by Machiko from the Dark Horse comics. Reading those gives you a "what happened next" vibe for a character who survives an encounter with the Yautja.