There was quite a bit of disappointment around Jeff Goldblum’s barely there cameo appearance in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but that all will be forgotten when the Jurassic Park star joins his fellow old school co-stars Sam Neill and Laura Dern in Jurassic World: Dominion this summer. Returning to the role of Ian Malcolm in a much more significant role obviously means that we will be getting more of those Malcolm observations that always seemed to be just an extension of Goldblum himself. Now it has been revealed that it could be closer to the truth than anyone believed, as the actor actually had a whole book of lines of dialogue he created to use in the movie.
The latest issue of Empire Magazine includes a massive amount of behind-the-scenes details and cast interviews ahead of the dino blockbuster’s arrival in cinemas on June 10, and that includes a conversation with the inimitable Jeff Goldblum. During the interview, the actor pulled out a small book of lines that he wrote for his character, hoping to slip them into the movie at some point. While some may have made it, there were many more that didn’t.
“I have a book!” Goldblum told the magazine. “Oh boy, I have a ton of them. I’ll just tell you one… We’re on a computer trying to fix something or other, and somebody says, ‘Uh-oh, it’s started flashing Error 99.’ And before Mamoudou [Athie]’s character comes in and explains, I was gonna slip in, very quickly, the line, ‘Error 99? Is it Barbara Feldon?’ Now, Barbara Feldon was an agent in Get Smart, a television series from 1962 or something, who played Agent 99. So, a lot of my ideas have to do with references that are totally irrelevant and of no interest or amusement to anybody who could possibly be watching a movie, and inappropriate to the scene. But it tickled me.”
Jeff Goldblum Makes The Most of His Return in Jurassic World: Dominion
While working with an actor who decides to bring their own lines to the party could be a disaster, that certainly wasn’t the case for director Colin Trevorrow. Goldblum’s involvement in Ian Malcolm’s dialogue was something Trevorrow was delighted to encourage in the film to make sure that this time around, Ian Malcolm comes back as a more inspired character than his short cameo in the previous movie.
“He would always bring extra things in his book that, yes, were often references to 1940s musicals, but he’s both hilarious and very powerful,” Trevorrow said. “It’s not just a comedy role. It’s the power of his presence in this movie that I love the most.”
Bryce Dallas Howard, who returns as her Jurassic World character of Claire in the movie, has recently moved into directing, but even with that experience under her belt, she hasn’t worked with anyone quite like Goldblum when it comes to the number of suggestions he pitched during the production of the film. She said, “I have never seen anyone pitch more dialogue than Jeff Goldblum. He literally had this piece of paper with these incredible one-liners, and he’d cross them out through the day. You know, some of them will make it in and some of them won’t. But a scene is not a scene without a Jeff Goldblum button.”
Jurassic World: Dominion brings its prehistoric beasts into the world on June 10.