Alien: Romulus’ Offspring wasn’t just CGI – it was brought to life by Robert Bobroczkyi, who made his acting debut as one of the franchise’s scariest monsters. Spoilers ahead…
Alien: Romulus is the latest space-faring nightmare, following a ragtag group of desperate colonists who board a derelict spaceship above their planet to find cryo-pods, hoping to jet off to sunnier climes.
Things do not go to plan. One disaster leads to another; Facehuggers emerge from their frozen state and start terrorizing the crew, and soon enough, a raging, acid-dripping Xenomorph is on the loose.
However, the franchise’s iconic alien should be the least of the audience’s worries, because Fede Álvarez’s film introduces a horrifying new creature: the Offspring, played by Robert Bobroczkyi.
Robert Bobroczkyi isn’t an actor
Bobroczkyi is a former Romanian basketball player, best known for his extraordinary height: 7ft 7 inches, making him one of the tallest players in the history of the sport.
By the age of 12, he’d already reached 7’2″, making him even taller than Robert Wadlow (the tallest person ever recorded) when he was aged 8-13. However, it’s believed his unusual height is down to healthy genetics, rather than any hormonal disease or syndrome (like Wadlow and John Rogan, who had gigantism).
He started playing basketball in 2013, impressing scouts with his passing ability. In 2016, he made his high school basketball debut in Ohio before joining Rochester University in 2020.
It’s unclear if he still plays basketball, with several reports claiming scoliosis has prevented him from achieving his NBA aspirations. However, he’s caught the attention of ESPN and other sports broadcasters, and he’s also said to be a keen philanthropist and pianist.
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How Bobroczkyi ended up in Alien: Romulus
Bobroczkyi was cast in Alien: Romulus for a simple reason: his height and build made him the perfect actor to play the Offspring.
Late in the film, Kay’s (Isabela Merced) pregnancy rapidly develops after she injects herself with the black goo from Prometheus. When she gives birth, it’s not a normal baby, but it’s not a Xenomorph either – it’s the Offspring, a horrifying hybrid of alien and man.
Speaking to Variety, visual effects supervisor Daniel Macarin said: “The way it’s described, you’re trying to picture it in your head, and you don’t know how the director is going to create this character.
“Is it going to look like a Xenomorph? Is it going to be something very unique? Will it be something we’ve never seen before?”
Macarin said it was “terrifying” when Bobroczkyi walked onto the set in his costume. “They did such an amazing job with the look and the feel of that character that we knew everything we could bring to it was just going to help,” he continued.
“The way he moves is just unique. Considering his big size and the concept of what [the creature] is, he’s giving a lot of new things to watch visually, so I found that to be outstanding.”
For more on the movie, check out our Alien: Romulus ending explained article and our guides on when Romulus takes place in the Alien timeline, if there’ll be a sequel, and our ranking of the Alien movies.
