Sigourney Weaver chokes up over question connecting her movie roles to Kamala Harris' campaign

Sigourney Weaver loves the idea of drawing a link between her career and Vice President Kamala Harris ' 2024 campaign.

The " Alien " star, 74, got choked up after being asked a question about Harris' presidential run during a press conference on Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival .

"Your roles gave power to women," a reporter told the actress. "I grew up knowing that Ripley was there. So my question is, when did you realize that your acting was such a powerful weapon, and to what extent movies, cinema, can make it possible that a woman like Kamala Harris could become president of the United States?"

Weaver told the journalist that she loved the question.

"We're all so excited about Kamala," she said. "To think for one moment that my work would have anything to do with her rise makes me very happy, actually."

Weaver got emotional as she continued that "so many women" have come up to her to thank her for her movie roles. The actress rose to fame with her performance as Ellen Ripley in "Alien," a groundbreaking hero who fights back against the Xenomorph and ends up as the movie's final survivor. She reprised the role in three sequels.

The " Ghostbusters " star reflected that she appreciated how Ripley in "Alien" was a "person" first, as opposed to just a "woman."

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"It's just a person, and you don't see her having to be 'girly' or 'womanly' or any of these other ideas," Weaver said. "Which are all great. Women can be everything. But I got to play really what I realize now is a kind of 'every person' part. She's all of us."

The actress added that she finds it "weird" when people ask her why she plays "strong" women in movies because "I just play women, and women are strong."

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Weaver was honored with a Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival. During the press conference, she celebrated the fact that she has continued to receive compelling parts decades into her career. The actress is currently starring in James Cameron's "Avatar" franchise , which so far has seen her play two different characters of radically different ages.

"Suddenly, they decided somehow in the world that older women could actually play interesting characters and started writing a lot of older women characters," Weaver said. "Suddenly, we stopped being a joke and a mother-in-law and we started to be real people."

She also indicated she has no plans to slow down in her acting career.

"Why should I stop?" Weaver asked. "It's so exciting — and I have two more 'Avatars' to do."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sigourney Weaver chokes up over question connecting her movie roles to Kamala Harris' campaign