Ash is a fictional character in the film Alien (1979) portrayed by actor Ian Holm who, although known in the UK as a stage actor, was at the time unknown to American audiences. Ash serves as the secondary antagonist of the first film. The character is the science officer of the Nostromo, who breaks quarantine by allowing Kane, a member of the crew, back on board after he has been infected by an alien life form. It is later discovered that Ash is not human, as he appears, but is a Hyperdyne Systems 120-A/2 android, a sleeper agent who is acting upon secret orders to bring back the alien lifeform and to consider the crew and the cargo as "expendable". Character development Alien At the beginning of the film, Ash is depicted as quiet, logical and scrupulously adherent to company regulations. When the Nostromo ostensibly discovers a signal on the planet LV-426, Ash ensures that the crew investigates by pointing out that failure to do so will incur a total forfeiture of their personal shares in Weyland-Yutani, per company regulations. Ash originally claims the message is indecipherable, but after landing on LV-426 Ripley is able to determine that it is likely some form of warning, and not an SOS as previously assumed. Even so, Ash convinces her that heading out after the search party to warn them would be futile. Once the search party returns, Ash breaks quarantine protocol (disobeying Ripley, the ship's ranking officer among the crew members remaining onboard) and allows the infected Kane back on board, seemingly out of compassion, and is later seen marveling at the creature attached to him. Ash repeatedly ignores Parker's urging that Kane be placed in frozen suspension. Ripley becomes suspicious of Ash as a result of these actions. Captain Dallas discloses that Ash replaced the vessel's regular science officer two days before the ship left Thedus. When Ripley, by checking the main computer, discovers the real reason for the Nostromos diversion, Ash assaults Ripley, attempting to kill her by forcing a rolled-up pornographic magazine down her throat. In the midst of their struggle, two of the surviving crew members, Parker and Lambert, arrive and rescue Ripley. Ash is struck over the head twice with a canister, the first time causing him to malfunction and the second decapitating him. When even that fails to kill him, he is electrocuted with a cattle