Jeff Goldblum: For me, acting has been an adventure led by passion and creative appetite – Exclusive! – Times of India

Jeff Goldblum, whose repertoire as an artiste extends into various art forms, including acting and music, has featured in the iconic Jurassic Park series that has both, terrified and delighted audiences around the globe. The actor, who starred in the original film in 1993 and followed it with The Lost World: Jurassic Park (2007), was last seen in the franchise’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018.) The upcoming, Jurassic World: Dominion, which has him reprising his character Dr Ian Malcolm once again, brings back some of the cast members from previous outings, but with a fresh story. Over to the actor, who spoke to BT about what has inspired him to keep coming back to the franchise and more. Excerpts:

You’ve been a part of this franchise since its inception. What’s it that inspires you to return to it, time and again?
Well, I’ve had a great time with this franchise since the very start; since I first read the book. I love the characters created by Michael Crichton. I have had a great time with Steven Speilberg directing the first two movies and the wonderful cast. I know people get a kick out of it. I have anecdotal evidence over decades, and people seem to like it (this franchise). And then Colin Trevorrow, our wonderful director, who wrote the last part in which I had a smaller role to play, talked to me over the phone. He was in England at that time helping with the filming. I just had a great time with him. He’s generous, creative and sweet. I was anxious to work with him and then being reunited with Laura Dern and Sam Neill was thrilling. I was really enthusiastic about joining them, Chris Pratt and the rest of the spectacular cast. Also, Frank Marshall is the legendary producer involved with this and has been all along. Emily Carmichael helped write the script and her voice was so fresh, new and brilliant. I had a great time. We had two producers on the film who pioneered and spearheaded the COVID protocols. Without that, we wouldn’t have a movie coming out.

When you have played a character for almost two decades, how do you reinvent it each time? How do you gather momentum when there is a considerable gap between two films in the franchise?

I had a little part in the last movie. It had only been a few years since I tried to step into the character’s shoes again. I have always tried to reacquaint myself with all the movies that have been made so far, the books and all the other material. I go back and look at the material shot and created, and the material from Michael Crichton. And then, I use my imagination about what my character was up to and how I might feel about the things at this point. A lot of things about my character have been referenced in some of the movies like his personal life, his wife, children and relationships. Also, the character’s continued passionate work since the 1993 outing with environmental concerns that have only been enhanced and his interest in making the world work for all creatures including humans. It’s a big thing to tackle. My character still has a lively sense of humour and a strong passion for it.

The current film that we’re talking about discusses what could happen if dinosaurs were challenging the balance between human civilisation and the animal kingdom. With or without the dinosaurs, do you think that reflects the reality today? Is there anything we could do to keep the balance in place?

Well, of course, as we know, scientists and the body of scientific knowledge keep self-correcting themselves over the years. Human beings and dinosaurs have never really co-existed on this planet. I am not an expert in anything, but I read things as they come across. The question makes me think of what humans are capable of. I hope that we, Homo sapiens, can rise and live peacefully among ourselves, which is challenging for us, along with every other creature that we share this spectacular planet with. My character says that in the movie, too. I think they deserve the planet as much as we do. The will, intelligence and humility to learn about balance from nature are what we need really.

At 69, you’re playing some very interesting parts in films and on television shows. Could you take us through your process of sifting through all the offers to zero in on the ultimate one or two that get the nod from you?

From the start and more so now, I choose characters purely on my tummy meter and whether I feel like I can hopefully get excited and contribute to the part that the interesting script in front of me has in it. It’s my taste for the script and the part, and the fact that I need variety, and I like to do a lot of the roles as learning drives me. The people that I get to work with are also very important to me because I do get excited to work with certain people. For me, from the start, acting has been an adventure led by passion and creative appetite.