Sigourney Weaver was shocked when she saw herself as a blue alien in Avatar. The Hollywood actress - who plays a scientist called Grace Augustine in the groundbreaking science fiction movie - was surprised by how lifelike her 3-D alien self looked in the special effects-laden film.

The Aliens star told BANG Showbiz: “I think every science fiction film is so unique, I’d never done performance capture and the whole world of Avatar was so fascinating that I felt like I was experiencing it for the first time. I mean it was so shocking because I didn’t think it would look like me, Sigourney, and it was just very funny. I’m just so looking forward to seeing it again.”

Weaver said she was also very impressed by how well the CGI graphics captured the cast’s movements. “James [Cameron] kept saying to us, ‘There are a lot of special effects, but it’s all about the characters, it’s all about the emotion of the story.’ So we never felt overwhelmed,” she explained.

Stephen Lang - who plays Miles Quaritch in the movie - insisted he didn’t need CGI to improve his muscles because he bulked up for the role. “I can say that there is a lot of computer enhancement in this film, but not on me. I swear to God!” he claimed.

Avatar opens in theaters this Friday.