The &34;Cinderella&34; star stops in her tracks &34;every time&34; she watches the scifi classic. Lily James still can't get over her family connection to Alien: 'This is crazy, that's my grandma!' The &34;Cinderella&34; star stops in her tracks &34;every time&34; she watches the scifi classic. By Wesley Stenzel :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/WesleyStenzelauthorphoto32b61793a2784639af623f2ae091477e.jpg) Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at . He began writing for EW in 2022. EW's editorial guidelines October 31, 2025 7:08 p.m.

The "Cinderella" star stops in her tracks "every time" she watches the sci-fi classic.

Lily James still can't get over her family connection to Alien: 'This is crazy, that's my grandma!'

The "Cinderella" star stops in her tracks "every time" she watches the sci-fi classic.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

October 31, 2025 7:08 p.m. ET

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Lily James; the xenomorph from 'Alien'. Credit:

Lia Toby/Getty; Courtesy Everett Collection

- Lily James says she stops in her tracks "every time" she watches *Alien* due to her grandmother's involvement.

- James' grandma, the actress Helen Horton, voiced the computer known as Mother in Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi classic.

- The *Cinderella* star said she impressed Edgar Wright with her connection to Horton while making *Baby Driver*.

Get away from her, you… grandma?

Lily James recently reflected on her special connection to the original *Alien* movie during an interview with *The Independent*. Any time the *Cinderella* star watches Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi classic, she's treated to a familiar sound: Her grandmother, American actress Helen Horton, provided the voice of the computer known as Mother on board the spaceship Nostromo, where the majority of the film takes place.

"I was watching it recently because I was thinking of Sigourney Weaver as an inspiration for a role I was hoping to play," James explained. "And I do just stop in my tracks every time, like, 'My God, this is crazy, that's my grandma!'"

Lily James at Paris Fashion Week 2025.

Francois Durand/Getty

The *Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again* actress remains in awe of her grandmother's presence, even when playing a disembodied computer. "Her voice was magic," James recalled. "She had one of those beautiful, rich, almost-British voices that all of those iconic movie stars of that time had."

James also said she floored the director of her 2017 film *Baby Driver* by revealing her grandma's identity. "The only time I've really played that card was to impress Edgar Wright," she said. "Like, 'I don't know if you know, but my grandmother…' And being the biggest film obsessive, and having seen everything, he just thought it was *so cool*!"

(While undoubtedly an *Alien* nerd, Wright is also a noted fan of the 1974 horror movie *Phase IV*, which starred Horton and was the only feature film directed by legendary designer Saul Bass.)

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Horton primarily worked in British television and theater. She starred in a student production of *Twelfth Night* with her friend, future Oscar winner Patricia Neal, while they were both studying at Northwestern University. She later took over as Blanche DuBois in the London production of *A Streetcar Named Desire* after Vivian Leigh departed the role.

Horton mostly played small supporting roles in her TV and film projects, though she shared the screen with a number of Hollywood icons throughout her career, including Eartha Kitt and Sidney Poitier in *The Mark of the Hawk*; Gregory Peck in *The Chairman*; Bill Murray in *The Razor's Edge*; Ann-Margret and Claudette Colbert in *The Two Mrs. Grenvilles*; and Michael Caine and Roger Moore in *Bullseye*. She also appeared in the 1983 sequel *Superman III*, starring Christopher Reeve in his third outing as the Man of Steel.

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James previously told *Harper's Bazaar* that her grandmother loomed large in her family's consciousness. "She had such grace, and bone structure to die for, and an American accent that was so old-fashioned, it sounded English," she said in 2019. "The stories of her life as an actress were legendary in our family."

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Source: "EW Movies"

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Source: Movies

Published: November 01, 2025 at 01:38AM on Source: VOXI MAG

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