Who Plays the Offspring in Alien: Romulus?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus.

Keen for the behind-the-scenes lowdown on Alien: Romulus‘ delightfully grotesque human-xenomorph hybrid, the Offspring? Then read on to find out who plays the Offspring in Alien: Romulus, and how much of the creature’s performance was achieved with practical effects!

Related: Does Alien: Romulus Have a Post-Credits Scene?

Who Plays the Offspring in Alien: Romulus?

Romanian ex-college basketballer Robert Bobroczkyi portrays the Offspring in Alien: Romulus. Bobroczkyi landed the role thanks to his towering stature; he clocks in at an impressive seven foot, seven inches! This means that director Fede Álvarez and his crew were able to capture a decent chunk of Romulus‘ Offspring-centric material the old-fashioned way: with a guy in a rubber suit.

Indeed, the footage of these scenes was apparently incredibly effective without any CGI augmentation. Visual effects supervisor Daniel Macarin said as much in a recent Variety interview, raving about Bobroczkyi’s unaltered performance. “The first time saw the plates, and this 7-foot [tall] actor in there, in his costume, it was terrifying,” Macarin recalled. “[The creature suits team] did such an amazing job with the look and the feel of that character that we knew that everything that we could bring to it was just going to help.”

In the same Variety article, animation supervisor Ludovic Chailloleau also praised first-time actor Bobroczkyi’s “unique” body language. “Considering his big size and the concept of what [the Offspring] is, [Bobroczkyi’s] giving a lot of new things to watch visually,” he said. “So I found that to be outstanding.” Chailloleau added that his team referenced Bobroczkyi’s movements when animating the CG Offspring that appears in shots (including those set in space) that wouldn’t be possible to shoot on set.

Related: What Is the Offspring in Alien: Romulus?

Was Alien: Romulus’ Offspring Realized Entirely via Practical Effects?

No – as noted above, Alien: Romulus relied on a combination of in-camera and visual effects trickery to bring the Offspring to life. That said, the crew used practical effects over CGI for the Offspring (and all its other extra-terrestrial beasties) wherever possible. For example, the nightmarish lifeform’s baby form was an animatronic with pixel-powered expressions.

Related: When Does Alien: Romulus Take Place on the Alien Timeline?

The Offspring’s toddler phase likewise required a lot of input from Macarin, Chailloleau, and their respective teams. Freaked out by the Offspring’s mouth-within-a-mouth, bleeding back, and shifting skin in these shots? Thank Alien: Romulus‘ VFX artists. These folks were also in charge of animating a key aspect of the Offspring’s design: his tail. Chailloleau touched on this in the Variety piece, observing that the crew’s goal was to emulate “prosthetic on a string” aesthetic of the original Alien.

Alien: Romulus is in cinemas now.