Whatever Happened To Newt Actress Carrie Henn From Aliens?
Fans will always debate which is the better film: Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror "Alien" or James Cameron's 1986 sci-fi actioner "Aliens." As important and influential as Scott's film was, Cameron upped the ante in terms of pure popcorn thrills, and a big part of that film's success was the character of Newt, played by Carrie Henn.
Living in Hadley's Hope settlement on LV-426, the young girl became an orphan when her family was killed by the Xenomorphs that inhabited the moon. The infestation made its way to the rest of the colonists, but Newt, using her cunning, was able to survive, living in the facility's ventilation system. When Weyland-Yutani lost contact with the colony, they sent a squad of Marines, along with Ellen Ripley, herself the sole survivor of a previous encounter with the Xenomorph, to find out what happened. When their ranks were decimated by the Xenomorphs, Ripley and the remaining Marines had no choice but to rely on Newt's knowledge and resourcefulness to find a way to escape the moon. As her own daughter passed away years earlier, Ripley took a particular interest in protecting Newt, acting as her surrogate mother of sorts.
Newt's character was unceremoniously killed off at the beginning of David Fincher's "Alien 3," and she hasn't returned to the franchise since. But whatever happened to Newt actress Carrie Henn?
She moved to America and quit acting
That's right, the actress from one of the great sci-movies of all time never returned to the big screen, having cultivated a quiet life away from show business.
Just before starring in "Aliens," Henn lived in England at RAF Lakenheath, as her father was in the Air Force. After shooting the film, she and her family moved to the U.S., and made the decision early on to get out of the film industry. In an interview with AvPGalaxy, Henn stated that she "contemplated going back into doing something with acting, because I live in California now, but I wanted to be a normal child... It's a little different than England, and so I wanted to kind of get into American life and make friends."
However, her transition to a regular, non-Hollywood existence wasn't an easy one. Her English accent, unfamiliarity with American life, and Tinseltown resume, gave Henn considerable difficulty adjusting to life as an everyday kid, and she was even the target of unwanted animosity. According to People, Henn's mother Roseleen said that, "People would call up and leave messages saying, 'You should never have gotten that part.' She put up with a lot of spiteful jealousy."
She went to college, became a teacher, and now has kids
Eventually, Henn's unusual childhood didn't deter her from doing what she really wanted to do: become a teacher. She went to California State University at Stanislaus, where she pursued degrees in liberal studies and child development. Even when she was in college, she was constantly reminded of her time starring in one of the most beloved sci-fi action films of all time. During a Q&A panel at "Alien Day" hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse, Henn told a humorous story about her famous line, "They mostly come at night. Mostly," (via TooFab), "When I was going to college, we'd go out at night to get a drink, and [my friends would] be like, 'Hey, you wanna go out?' 'Sure.' 'We mostly go out at night.' Everything would go back to that."
As much as fans would've loved to see Henn return to the big screen, it just wasn't something she was passionate about. The former actress told Tulsa World that, "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. But it wasn't my passion. Teaching was." In addition to teaching children, she has two children of her own, who she undoubtedly watches over like Ripley did for her. And yes, she has shown them "Aliens."
She wasn't disappointed about Newt's death in Alien 3
As stated previously, Newt was given an ignominious death at the beginning of the third installment in the "Alien" franchise; despite safely making it off LV-426 with Ripley and Corporal Hicks, she is drowned when their escape pod lands in the water on the planet Fiorina 161, leaving Ripley as the only survivor.
While fans, and even "Aliens" director James Cameron, were disappointed by the decision to give Newt such a disgraceful sendoff, Henn wasn't terribly bothered by it. During her appearance at the Alien 30 reunion at the San Diego Comic-Con, the former actress said (via Digital Spy) that, "By that stage I had already decided that I wanted to be a teacher so I was not planning on going into [acting as an adult]. Had I been asked to [reprise my role], I probably would have done it. Who wouldn't? [But] I wasn't devastated."
"District 9" director Neill Blomkamp was at one point working on an "Alien" sequel that ignored the events of "Alien 3" and "Alien Resurrection" (as well as the terrible "Alien vs Predator" flicks), sparking many fans to speculate on the possibility of seeing Henn return to the franchise. But plans for that fell through when original series director Ridley Scott came back for "Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant." That's ok. In our head cannon, Newt went on many more daring missions with Ridley and Hicks.
She's still friends with Sigourney Weaver
While we may not have gotten to see the continued adventures of Newt and Ridley, at least fans can rest assured knowing that, in real life, Henn and Sigourney Weaver still stay in touch. When speaking with Wired, Henn revealed that her friendship with Weaver blossomed as soon as they met. "Immediately, we hit it off," she said. "She took me under her wings when we were filming, because I was so inexperienced. I can't describe my relationship with her, because she's more than just a friend – what you see on screen is genuinely how we feel about each other." Although Henn is now old enough to look out for herself, it's nice to know that Weaver is still out there keeping an eye on her friend. You know, just in case there are any infestations that need to be dealt with.
According to Henn, she was, understandably, blown away by the opportunity to work with such a major actress. She told Wired, "I was excited, because I was like, 'She was in Ghostbusters! How cool is this?'" Honestly, who wouldn't have the same reaction to appearing in a movie with the legendary Weaver?
She still connects with fans of Aliens and still has kids coming up to her about Aliens
While Henn hasn't been seen on the big screen since the iconic 1986 film, she is still happy to keep the legacy alive by regularly showing up at conventions, and takes considerable delight in meeting fans. She's also active on X (formerly Twitter), where she keeps admirers updated on public appearances and posts plenty of "Aliens"-related content.
Henn's day to day life as a teacher is, hopefully, devoid of Xenomorphs, but she's often reminded of her past adventures by the children she teaches. She attended "Alien Day" at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Downtown Los Angeles, where she told fans (via TooFab), "Sometimes I'll have kids come up to me with copies of the DVD and they go, 'My dad's a big fan, this is the only teacher conference that my dad ever went to and his birthday's coming up,' and they pull out the DVD and I go, 'Would you like me to sign it?' 'Yeah ... are you gonna charge me?'"
She almost reprised her role as Newt in an Alien fan film
It would obviously be a dream come true for "Alien" fans the world over if to have Henn return to the franchise, especially considering the disappointing way Newt was killed off in "Alien 3." That dream almost came true in 2015 when it was announced that the fan film, "Alien Identity," would go into production, starring Henn. However, she wasn't going to play Newt; instead, she was going to portray Anne Jorden, Newt's mother, in a sequence that took place in the past. According to Digital Spy, despite Henn's reluctance to return to the big screen, she was more than ready for this role, saying, "I am looking forward to working on Aliens from a different perspective. I can't wait to hear what all the fans think!"
Unfortunately, the film never came to pass, as 20th Century Fox prevented it from being made, despite looking the other way when it came to other fan films. Sonnet Realm Films, the company behind "Alien Identity," issued a statement (via AvPGalaxy), "We were hoping that since Fox allowed other fan films in the Alien/Predator universes to be made that they would allow us to do so likewise... We understand that this is Fox's intellectual property and we want to respect their wishes." And with that, fans were back to imagining what could've been.
She could still appear in an Alien film
Still, Newt's return was almost a reality several years ago. Prior to Scott returning to the franchise he created, Neill Blomkamp was working on a film that would have directly picked up after the events of "Aliens," and was planning to bring back Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn to reprise their characters. He also planned to feature Newt in the proposed film, although he wanted someone younger to portray the character. Of course, Blomkamp's film never materialized, but he did send fans into a frenzy when he took to Instagram to post a piece of concept art that featured Henn as an older — and more badass — Newt.
However, there may still be a glimmer of hope that she may one day return to the silver screen, maybe even in an "Alien" film. Despite leaving acting behind at a young age, Henn told Black Gate that she's not against returning to the series at some point, saying that, "As a busy wife, mom and teacher I'm not sure I would have the time to devote to reprising my role. However, I would love to do a cameo in an 'Alien' franchise film if the opportunity arose." Obviously, with original director Ridley Scott currently in the midst of producing an "Alien" prequel TV series, we'll probably never see Newt again. But maybe Carrie Henn can still pop up at some point.