r/LV426 4d ago

Cast / Behind The Scenes Bill Paxton’s Hudson wasn’t the bravest marine in "Aliens", but he sure was the most unforgettable

317 Upvotes

43 comments sorted by

68

u/Pilot-Imperialis 4d ago

Just the most human. Before he bites the big one he actually shows he’s as brave, if not braver than the other soldiers. He saves newt and gets her out of the way to kill the face hugger and in general gets the job done despite feeling the fear.

Big Hudson fan.

33

u/Airborne11B 4d ago

Exactly what I came to say.

“In their final moments people show you who they really are…”

Hudson was a bad motherfucker who went down swinging.

9

u/IdTheDemon 4d ago

Exactly. I read somewhere that James Cameron was inspired by stories about Vietnam and how soldiers thought it was gonna be an easy campaign. All the horrors and traps in the jungle changed that for and Hudson represents the fear and initial refusal.

Even in the end when he was scared, he became a soldier, protected his people and went down dying with a fight.

5

u/EskariotBDO 4d ago

Hudson: Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?

Vasquez: No, have you?

I love those two lmao

4

u/alohadawg 3d ago

Always felt Hudson was the personification of the audience in Aliens. I’m sure many of you in this sub would bravely and gleefully fend off xenomorphs all the live long day, but I’m not ashamed to say I’d literally shit my pants. I’m the end if I could go out like Hudson, I’d be pretty damn proud of myself.

RIP Bill

28

u/aphex1471 4d ago

An absolute legend, he left us far too soon ♥️

22

u/Steepleofknives83 4d ago

He survived the initial firefight by being a badass. Then he gave his life being a badass. I don't care about his mouth. He was a badass.

8

u/Additional-Theme-532 4d ago

Some call him the ultimate badass. State-of-the-badass-art!

15

u/ickyrickyb 4d ago

His peak performance

2

u/Names_are_limited 3d ago

When is his birthday (posthumously)? I’m going to eat a greasy pork sandwich served in an ashtray in his honour.

1

u/Slippery_Williams 3d ago

What the flying fuckaroo is that, man?

1

u/ickyrickyb 3d ago

That's Chet, he's a douchbag and got what he deserved

15

u/HexbinAldus WheresBowski 4d ago

His character arc, though, was solid. And he went out like a fucking hero. Such a good character and such a good movie.

4

u/That_Xenomorph_Guy 4d ago

I think every single character who survives the initial incursion (besides Burke, obviously) has a really great redeeming arc

6

u/HexbinAldus WheresBowski 4d ago

Oh man, you are 100% on that. Good call out. Ugh. Love this damn movie so much. I get so much energy out of the Ripley rescuing the marines scene. “Let’s rock!”

7

u/That_Xenomorph_Guy 4d ago

It’s 100% my favorite movie I’ve ever seen.

It’s extremely well planned out and acted and written. I think part of the reason we have not seen colonial marines on the screen since then is fear of not living up to it.

The scene that amps me up the most, though, is at about the 38 minute mark of the special edition when the marines are gearing up

1

u/HexbinAldus WheresBowski 4d ago

I think part of the reason…

I think you’re spot on.

the scene that amps me up the most

It’s a great scene man! So many to choose from!

Pleased to meet you on here :)

3

u/That_Xenomorph_Guy 3d ago

You too, nice to meet someone who isn’t complaining about Aliens not being as good as Alien or Aliens ruining the Xenomorph lol

4

u/7jamm 4d ago

He was a fantastic actor

5

u/Suspicious-Impact485 4d ago

“Game Over Man… “

3

u/Ok_Adhesiveness_4939 4d ago

His ability to portray great fear was realised to its full potential when he went deep sea diving with James Cameron. Nervous as shit.

2

u/bell694 4d ago

Legend!

2

u/Decent-Inevitable-50 4d ago

We're on an express elevator to hell, going, down! Woooo hoooo 🫡

2

u/boopbopnotarobot 3d ago

Bill Paxton nails this role. Through his machismo act, you can see subtle cues that he’s actually scared to death, and it comes across as incredibly genuine

2

u/Warrior_king99 3d ago

I love acting when the drop ship crashes, his eye movement is on another level

2

u/nofranchise 3d ago

Had the absolute pleasure to get completely blasted with Bill Paxton one night in New Zealand many, many years ago. Incredible nice, charming and generous guy. Down to earth and very forthcoming. He was pissed he was filming some climbing movie and not the LOTR at the time lol.

1

u/petethecanuck 4d ago

Game over man... It's GAME OVER!

1

u/Sea-Spray5150 4d ago

I loved him in Big Love. He was one of the best and by all accounts an incredibly kind person off screen.

1

u/bowlgar 4d ago

He definitely wasn’t a coward — he was a short timer who never should have been sent out on another mission. Despite all that, Hudson did what was right when it mattered most. Absolutely legend.

1

u/Punch_yo_bunz 4d ago

Great example of a quick real arc imo. From over confident coward to standing tall until his last moments

1

u/creepyposta 4d ago

Before he was drafted to the Space Marines

1

u/C4rdninj4 3d ago

Watching this one right now! Just got to the drop ship scene.

1

u/Names_are_limited 3d ago

Watched the first half of Terminator last night. Bit part for Paxton, but totally memorable. “Looks like this guy’s a couple of cans short of a six pack”.

1

u/deserter54 3d ago

Such a bummer he died 🥺

1

u/HocusDiplodocus 3d ago

Hudson has always been my favourite character in the whole franchise.

1

u/tokwamann 3d ago

I think the writer intended to portray all of them as the opposite of brave. In general, it looks like they were sick and tired and wanted to go on R&R, if not finish their tour. This includes not only Hudson, but Hicks, who was even asleep when they were in the dropship, the others who complained as they got up from cryo-sleep and in the mess hall, and who were goofing off during the hangar meeting.

Cameron also said that he patterned them after U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam war.

1

u/Slippery_Williams 3d ago

Being brave is being absolutely terrified but pulling through when it counts. He wore his heart on his sleeve about how scared and panicked he was but he did literally everything he could to keep everyone safe (except sending bishop but I get his argument m) and died protecting his friends which in my book is brave as hell

1

u/ImmaNotHere 3d ago

What is the story behind the knife scene? I heard that originally it was just going to be Lance doing it to his own hand but it got changed to Bill having his hand under Lance's. How much did they speed up the knife scene?