Winona Ryder Calls Filming Underwater Scene in ‘Alien Resurrection’ the Worst Moment of Her Career

When Winona Ryder was just nine, she watched a movie that had a big impact on her. Her parents let her see Ridley Scott’s Alien, one of the scariest films ever made. Instead of being terrified, Ryder actually loved the movie.

She even had a poster of Sigourney Weaver’s character, Ellen Ripley, hanging above her bed during her childhood.

Years later, Ryder became a famous actress with roles in Beetlejuice, Heathers, and Edward Scissorhands. When Alien 3 came out, her family was excited to see what happened next. But the ending shocked them—Ripley died. Ryder said in a 1997 interview, “We were all pretty pissed off. The idea of Ripley dying wasn’t received well, especially in my home. For fans, it was a big disappointment. I was like, ‘Goddamn it.’”

Then, five years after that, Ryder got to work with Weaver in Alien: Resurrection. The film brought Ripley back to life as a clone with mixed human and alien DNA. Ryder was excited to work alongside her childhood hero and jump into the role.

However, there was one tough challenge. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet wanted to film a very difficult underwater scene right at the start. This was a big problem for Ryder because she has a deep fear of water. When she was 12, she nearly drowned and was saved by rescuers. Since then, she avoided being underwater whenever she could.

Still, Ryder faced her fear and got into a giant water tank on the Fox lot. She had to stay under 12 feet of murky water with the rest of the cast. She later described the experience as “hands down, the worst experience of my entire life.” She explained, “Like, literally. I thought I was gonna die. I had a really bad anxiety attack, actually. We were all pretty miserable.”

Sigourney Weaver agreed. She said that while the idea of an underwater chase with aliens was exciting, filming it was awful for everyone. Weaver joked, “Man, being in a dark, submerged kitchen with lots of boots in your face and guns going off and everybody’s gunk all around can get really ugly.”

The scene took two weeks to shoot. During that time, the water got dirty with debris and all kinds of fluids. It was hard to manage because many actors were involved, some carrying others, while dodging alien creatures. There were several close calls, making the shoot even more stressful.

In the end, Ryder and the team finished the scene, which is now seen as the best part of Alien: Resurrection. Still, Ryder probably doesn’t think back on it fondly and wouldn’t want to face something like that again.

This story was shared based on Ryder’s and Weaver’s own words in interviews, giving a rare look at what it was like behind the scenes of a famous sci-fi film.

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