Lance Henriksen is one of the few actors besides Sigourney Weaver whose character lived to return for another installment in the "Alien" franchise. Ridley Scott's first "Alien" movie taught audiences and space survivor Ripley, played by Weaver, not to trust androids. Then, James Cameron's sequel, "Aliens," subverted that by introducing Henriksen's android Bishop, and casting doubt on his motives through Ripley, only to show that he was actually a trustworthy and loyal ally.

That's not to say Bishop would necessarily favor humans over aliens as an intrinsically better-natured life form. In a 1987 interview with "Starlog" magazine (via Strange Shapes), Henriksen said, "I told Jim [Cameron], 'Anything that's really organically alive is fascinating to Bishop. There's no good or evil -- just this ultimate respect for anything living.'"

Henriksen also mentioned consulting books like "Mockingbird" by Walter Tevis for his "Aliens" role. "There's a bit in ['Mockingbird'] where the...