According to Cynthia Dale Scott (Corporal Dietrich) at the 2011 convention Alien Encounters, the crew would not discuss Remar's departure with the others. Michael Biehn, who had previously worked with Cameron on The Terminator, playing Kyle Reese, was brought in to replace Remar. Firing and recastingĪfter a couple of weeks of working on Aliens, Remar was caught in the possession of illegal drugs and was subsequently fired. It is unlikely any footage of Remar and Sigourney Weaver ( Ripley) was filmed, as the scenes of the Marines in the Hive were done at beginning of Aliens' production during this time, Weaver was finishing Half Moon Street. Īlthough not much is known about Remar's role as Hicks, as no direct footage of him in the role has ever been released, he at least filmed the shot where the Marines enter the Alien Hive and several still pictures and a costume continuity Polaroid were taken of him. At the time of Aliens' filming, Frank Oz was filming Little Shop Of Horrors on an adjacent stage, and, according to Matthews, Remar 'blew a hole in Frank's set! With a shotgun!' Matthews then said to Remar, 'Where the fuck did you get live ammo?' Ī compilation of images showing Remar as Hicks. The main thing Matthews had to teach them was to never point a weapon at somebody and to never walk around with their finger on the trigger although the weapons used blanks, they could still do damage. Īl Matthews (Sergeant Apone) was asked by director James Cameron to train the Marine actors. Alien series producer Walter Hill, who had previously directed Remar in The Warriors, The Long Riders and 48 Hrs., likely helped Remar obtain the audition for Aliens. James Remar was cast as Corporal Hicks in Aliens.

James remar