Pakistan, May 24 -- Actress Sigourney Weaver was an unknown 28-year-old stage actress when she landed the role of Ripley in director Ridley Scott's now classic sci-fi horror film 'Alien'.

Ripley, the sole survivor of an attack by an alien who infiltrates a space ship, turned out to be one of the most powerful and well-loved female protagonists in science fiction, celebrated by fans as a tough, complex heroine. But she was originally written as a man.

"I thought it was a small movie," Sigourney Weaver told journalists ahead of the 40th anniversary of the film's release. "It had a tiny cast and a brilliant young director. I liked the part. I didn't think I was going to play Henry V, but I thought I can play Ripley."

The film follows the ...