WINDING A WAY
Jeff Goldblum talks returning to the Jurassic Park franchise
It’s been almost 30 years since Jurassic Park. How surprised were you to get that call for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom?
I think I was surprised. How did that happen? I’m trying to remember. Wait a minute. “Oh, they’re doing a second Jurassic World movie. And they want you in it?” Surprised and thrilled. I couldn’t have had a better time on the first and second ones. I was very happy to do it. It was nice to breathe through Ian Malcolm’s nostrils again. He’s an interesting cat.
Malcolm has always raised concerns about saving the dinosaurs. Now that they are roaming free in Dominion, how much is he thinking “I told you so?”
I can’t give too much away, but I don’t think he rests too long on the “I told you so.” I think throughout these last couple of decades, since the incidents in Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna, that was a life-changing, death-defying experience. He’s not only proudly more present and appreciative of life itself, but I think he’s more passionately committed to doing what he can to help our species along. It’s a crucial point, and seeing what I can do, given my specialty in chaos theory and my brush with dinosaurs, I’m doing what I can to sort out the bad people who want to use technology unwisely. I’m seeing if I can add my two cents, so that things get guided along a bit more wisely. I’m more committed with that than ever.
What can you tease about what brings the legacy characters back together?
There is some ignorance afoot with the use of the technology. Malcolm places himself somewhere near those goings-on so I might impact them. We all start collaborating before we intersect and coincide with Owen and Claire for a related reason.
How did it feel sharing screen time with Sam Neill and Laura Dern again?
Oh, it was absolutely amazing. They are two of our finest actors. They are spectacular people. I adore them. It was great spending more time with them than I have in the last couple of decade. It’s fun and wildly trippy and amazing being with them. Seeing them recreate their parts, and to take the characters further right there with me, was thrilling.
The encounter between Malcolm and the T-rex in Jurassic Park proved memorable. What can you tease about his run-in with Rexy this time?
They were all looking at something in the trailer. We all have our encounter with it. We all have our individual moments with a few different things, that are as exciting and scary and suspenseful as I have ever seen in any of the movies.
The trailer also finds Malcolm asking, “Bigger. Why do they always have to go bigger?” What’s it like being the character who gets the most quotable one-liners?
Emily Carmichael, along with director Colin Trevorrow, wrote this script. They not only came up with a good story, but clever lines. Ian Malcolm has been a rich character since the books. He winds up getting to pop off an interesting remark or two. Making the most of them is my challenge… and I did my best.