Sigourney Weaver Named Her Ten Favourite Actors

It's science fiction, it doesn't matter what I do. I wore these very high hooker boots that made me about seven feet tall. I stalked into that meeting, Ridley asked me what I thought of the script, and we just started to talk and I could see the casting person in the background who was kind of going like, you know, he doesn't really want to know what you think, dear. When Sigourney Weaver speaks about actors who've influenced her, there's one name that stands above the rest. Jean Hackman is like my idol, she said without hesitation in an interview reflecting on her career. Her reverence for Hackman traces back long before they shared the screen. To Weaver, Hackman represented a brand of actor who didn't just perform, but transformed. You don't see Jean Hackman, she once explained, you see the character he's playing. That's the kind of work I aspire to. You get this straight, ---- kicker. Don't you go mistaking me for some whole other body. Their collaboration came in Heartbreakers, a 2001 romantic comedy in which Hackman played a lecherous tobacco tycoon targeted by Weaver's con artist character. Yeah, you're only young once, why not indulge her? Oh, darling, what's the matter? Kid's sick again? She couldn't believe her luck when he joined the cast. Every day was a thrill, she said. Watching Jean work was a masterclass in how to ground outrageous comedy in truth. The admiration was mutual. Hackman praised Weaver's precision and her command of tone, reportedly telling director David Merkin that working with her was as easy as breathing. Weaver's experience on Heartbreakers not only reaffirmed her admiration for Hackman, but reshaped how she approached comedy. Weaver's experience with Hackman brought discipline and gravity, but her time with Bill Murray during Ghostbusters introduced her to a completely different style of acting. Well, that's all right. I don't either. But there are some things we do, standard procedures in a case like this, which often bring us results. Bill is impossible to prepare for, she recalled. He's chaos, but controlled chaos. In interviews, she's described arriving on set thinking she was ready, only to be blindsided by Murray's improvisations. You'd be halfway through a scene, and he'd say something that made you forget what planet you were on, she said with a laugh. And that's when the scene would come alive. You know, Bill is so unique. And I actually think Mark Twain would have adored Bill. I think they would have been great friends. I think they have a lot in common. They're both iconoclasts. They're both very hard to predict what they're going to say. And I just feel like he's so much in the spirit of Twain. Despite, or perhaps because of, his unpredictability, Weaver found Murray's method invigorating. He taught me to let go of control, she explained. Not everything needs to be polished. Sometimes the messiness is where the truth is. Their chemistry on screen was obvious, but off screen she valued the tension between their styles. We came from different worlds. He from comedy, me from theatre and drama, but that friction gave our scenes their spark. Her time with Murray encouraged her to embrace instinct more and rehearsal less. By the time she encountered Ian Holm on the set of Alien, Weaver was still relatively unknown. Holm, by contrast, was a seasoned stage and screen actor with credits stretching back decades. Your efforts have been courageous, but confused and futile. It is now time to prepare a rigorous plan of action. I was in awe of him, she admitted. He had this way of doing almost nothing but saying everything. As the synthetic science officer Ash, Holm delivered a performance that was subtle, calculated and unnerving. For Weaver, watching him work was like studying a surgeon. Holm rarely gave advice, but his manner offered lessons. He didn't talk about acting, she said. He just did it. And that quiet commitment made me realise how powerful understatement can be. One moment that stayed with her was a simple glance Holm gave in a corridor scene, no dialogue, barely a movement, but loaded with subtext. I remember thinking, so that's how it's done. Weaver's admiration for Holm would shape her future performances, leading her to trust that sometimes the most impactful choice is the quietest one. After Holm's clinical restraint, Weaver encountered another master of nuance during Alien 3, Charles Dance. Though their time together was relatively brief, Dance's impact on Weaver was significant. Charles had this way of delivering lines that felt like they'd been carved out of ice, she told Empire magazine. He didn't waste a syllable. Talk to me. Dance, who played Clemens, the prison doctor, was cast opposite Weaver in some of the film's most emotionally complex scenes. What struck her was how little he seemed to push. He never forced anything, she said. He'd just look at you, say the line, and you'd feel it like a dagger. Weaver has often mentioned that actors like Dance taught her the importance of economy. You don't have to over-explain anything, she said. If the writing's good and the moment's honest, less really is more. This reinforced a principle she'd been forming since working with Holm. Restraint can reveal more than overt emotion ever could. When Heartbreakers brought her face-to-face with Anne Bancroft, Weaver was both nervous and thrilled. Bancroft, an Oscar winner and veteran of American theatre, played her mother in the film. I couldn't believe I was playing her daughter, Weaver said. Anne had this effortless elegance, but she could cut you to ribbons with a look. My client has agreed to settle for a hundred thousand dollars. Oh, and she keeps the Mercedes. On set, Bancroft's energy was different from Hackman's or Murray's. She was regal, meticulous, and possessed a razor-sharp instinct for tone. She had such command, Weaver said. Even if she was doing something outrageous, she never lost her dignity. That was a revelation. Bancroft also impressed upon Weaver the value of longevity, not just in career, but in character work. Anne was still evolving, still hungry to find new colours in her performances. That hunger is what keeps you alive as an actor. Weaver left that project with a renewed respect for women who had built long careers on substance rather than celebrity. Weaver's admiration for Kevin Kline emerged from both professional proximity and personal affection. Though they've worked together sparingly, their performances in Dave left a lasting impression on her. Kevin is such a shapeshifter, she said. He can be completely ridiculous in one scene and heartbreakingly sincere in the next. Weaver values Kline's subtle versatility, what she calls his chameleon warmth. He never seems to be playing a type, yet always lands with truth. He doesn't show off, she explained. He just melts into the role and you believe him every time. What impressed her most was his ability to bring emotional depth to comedy. He never undercuts the feeling with a joke, even when he's being funny, it comes from a real place. Kline's approach reminded her of what she first loved in Gene Hackman, the ability to inhabit a role so fully that the actor disappears. In Alien Resurrection, Weaver was already an icon, while Winona Ryder was still rising. But Weaver found Ryder's quiet presence magnetic. There's something about Winona, she told Entertainment Weekly. She doesn't need to shout to be heard. Her strength is internal. Weaver appreciated Ryder's introversion, which mirrored her own early experiences. She's got that same intensity I felt when I started, she noted, a refusal to perform for the sake of it. She waits for the right moment and then she pounces. Their scenes together crackled with contrast. Weaver's seasoned command met Ryder's simmering defiance. It was fascinating to watch her, she said. She reminded me that acting isn't always loud. Sometimes it's in the waiting. That collaboration gave Weaver the confidence to continue evolving, to pull back even more and trust stillness. Though they never shared major scenes, Sigourney Weaver was an admirer of Alan Rickman's work and openly praised him when they appeared together in Galaxy Quest. Stand back, Jason. Alan was a theatre actor who never looked down on film, she said. He brought the same intensity to a parody as he did to Shakespeare. What fascinated Weaver was Rickman's vocal control and his patience. His voice was like velvet but with daggers hidden inside, she said. She observed how he held a beat just a moment longer than expected, pulling the audience in. He could make a single word land like a speech, she added. That kind of control only comes from craft and discipline. Weaver credited Rickman with reinforcing her belief that great acting is often about rhythm, not just words. Although they haven't worked together directly, Weaver has repeatedly expressed admiration for Jessica Lange. In interviews, she has said, Jessica has this raw emotional honesty that just floors me. She goes to dark places without ever feeling like she's performing. Good to read. Alex might just wind up a famous writer like her Aunt Gail. She's not famous. Lange's work in Francis and Blue Sky particularly struck Weaver as examples of fearless vulnerability. She doesn't protect herself, Weaver said. She exposes everything. Weaver, who often plays strong or mysterious characters, saw in Lange an emotional transparency she envied. I learn from watching people like her, she said. She doesn't hold back, and that's why her performances stay with you. This appreciation influenced Weaver's choices in more emotionally revealing roles, encouraging her to soften the edges of her more guarded characters. In Heartbreakers, alongside the likes of Hackman and Bancroft, Weaver also took notice of Jason Lee. Jason was the surprise, she admitted. He had such impeccable timing, but no ego. He just listened and responded. While many actors push for the spotlight in comedies, Lee's understated timing stood out. He wasn't trying to be funny. He just was. What Weaver admired most was his generosity. He gave space. That's rare in comedy, she explained. Most actors want the punchline. Jason wanted the moment to work, even if the laugh wasn't his. In ensemble scenes, Weaver said she often looked to Lee as a rhythm anchor. He reminded me that humility is a tool, not a liability. Lee's humility and instinctive sense of flow gave Weaver a renewed appreciation for subtlety in comic acting.