- Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley: the sole survivor of an alien attack on her ship, the Nostromo[3]
- Michael Biehn as Dwayne Hicks: a corporal in the Colonial Marines[4]
- Paul Reiser as Carter J. Burke: a Weyland-Yutani Corporation representative[4]
- Lance Henriksen as Bishop: an android aboard the Sulaco[5]
- Carrie Henn as Rebecca "Newt" Jorden: a young girl in the colony on LV-426[2]
- Bill Paxton as Hudson: a boastful but panicky Colonial Marine private[6][7]
- William Hope as Gorman: the Marines' inexperienced commanding officer[6][8]
- Ricco Ross as Frost: a private in the Colonial Marines[6]
- Al Matthews as Apone: the Marines' cool-headed Sergeant[9][10]
The Colonial Marine cast includes privates Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein), Drake (Mark Rolston), Spunkmeyer (Daniel Kash),[6] Crowe (Tip Tipping), and Wierzbowski (Trevor Steedman),[1] and corporals Dietrich (Cynthia Dale Scott) and Ferro (Colette Hiller). In addition to the main cast, Aliens features Paul Maxwell as Van Leuwen (a member of the board reviewing Ripley's competence) and Barbara Coles as the cocooned colonist killed when an alien bursts from her chest.[1][11] Carl Toop and Eddie Powell portray alien warriors.[1][12]
Some scenes removed from Aliens's theatrical version were restored in subsequent releases.[13] Additional credits for these scenes include Newt's father, Russ Jorden (Jay Benedict),[14][15] and her mother Anne (Holly de Jong).[16][17] Henn's brother, Christopher, plays her brother Timmy,[18][19] Mac McDonald portrays colony administrator Al Simpson,[20][21] and Weaver's mother, Elizabeth Inglis, makes a cameo appearance as Ripley's elderly daughter Amanda.[22]
