Goldblum’s fame transcends his work
What is it about this 65-year-old man that he, as time marches on, has inspired so much good will and an almost overwhelming fan base?
For those who don’t know, Jeff Goldblum is one of the rare celebrities whose fame seems to transcend anything he’s actually done – and inexplicably grows with age. That isn’t to say he doesn’t boast an impressive résumé, but for legions of young fans he’s become what The Washington Post’s Elahe Izadi cleverly dubbed a “beloved living meme.”
The internet was abuzz – more than usual – with Goldblum chatter Thursday, because he announced the release of his debut jazz album (yes, you read that correctly) shortly after shocking everyone with a surprise visit London’s St. Pancras railway station on Wednesday to tinkle the ivories for commuters.
Even fellow celebrities were shocked. Tweeted an (extremely chill) DJ Jubilee: “WHY WAS JEFF GOLDBLUM AT ST PANCRAS TODAY I WAS ALSO AT ST PANCRAS TODAY.”
That’s right, the man once known to a generation of youngsters as the chaos theory-spouting Dr. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park is releasing 14 tracks of cool jazz. The mere fact that Goldblum plays jazz is one of his many delightful qualities that fans have clung onto. That he’s releasing an entire album of the stuff, with comedian Sarah Silverman handling vocals on the 1920s tune Me and My Shadow, is just icing on the cake.
The record, titled The Capitol Studios Sessions, will drop on Nov. 9. Perhaps more importantly, it presents us with a good opportunity to dive into his unique brand of fame.
The internet contains multitudes, among them the ability to transform regular people into viral versions of themselves. Goldblum is one of these phenomena, much like fellow actor Bill Murray.
Lately, it feels as if – to borrow a few overused terms – Goldblum is “having a moment” or that we’ve reached “peak Goldblum.” The jazz album and surprise performance are only the tip of the iceberg.
For nearly a decade, the man, the myth, the legend has inspired an overwhelming number of memes. Many focused around a sexy shot of the actor from Jurassic Park, in which he lies on his side like a swimsuit model, black shirt unbuttoned to reveal a firm, tan and slightly cut torso heaving beneath.
Then, in July, slightly obscuring the iconic Tower Bridge in London was a eight-metre, 150-kilogram statue of Goldblum-as-Malcolm stretched out in that sultry pose. London natives and visitors alike flocked to the statue to snap Instagram pics, shared under the hashtag #JurassicJeff.
It seems as if no one can ever get enough Goldblum. Just last week, a Twitter user shared a few images from a thrift shop he recently visited – which filled every single picture frame they had with an image of the actor. Sadly for all the other Goldblumites out there, the location of said shop was not disclosed. The tweeter did, however, inspire a Wired columnist to post a photograph of his office restroom. Perhaps you can guess how it’s decorated.
So, what is it about Goldblum?
He’s always been well-liked. Actress Glenn Close once called him “charm personified,” adding: “The demented smile, the verbal agility, the jerky yet somehow graceful way he moves. A lot of arm stuff. The most charming thing of all? That he’s a wonderful husband and father.”
“He makes you so damn happy to be alive,” onetime girlfriend Laura Dern added.
But why does the internet love him so much? We may never know, but it certainly seems like he stokes the fires of such eccentric fandom. For one, he’s leaned into on-screen absurdity in the later years of his acting career. He injected Thor: Ragnarok with some seriously surreal, off-kilter energy as the fabulously dressed Grandmaster (who, in one deleted scene, appears to make out with alien tentacles. He’s also portrayed any number of kooky characters in Wes Anderson’s recent films.
He’s also appeared in all manner of oddball comedy shows, from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to Inside Amy Schumer to The League. In a classic Portlandia sketch, he plays a dude who sells artisanal knots to hapless hipsters – and gives a far better performance than the sketch requires.
And, while he reprieved his iconic Malcolm for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, even that smacked of a winking inside joke. Though the film’s promotion heavily featured Goldblum, the actor barely appeared in the film, save for giving a speech to Congress in the opening and closing moments of the movie.
Goldblum, in other words, seems up for anything. For all of this, people love him. Amid all this jazzy news, one Twitter user painted a pretty telling portrait of how the man’s fans view him with a single tweet that serves as something of an adage in these strange and tumultuous times: “Always be yourself. Unless you can be Jeff Goldblum. Then always be Jeff Goldblum.”