This One Aspect Of Jurassic Park's Alan Grant Proved To Be A Big Challenge For Sam Neill
"Jurassic Park," one of film's most enduring and beloved franchises, has been terrifying audiences with genetically modified dinosaurs for years. Before the 1993 film, "Jurassic Park" was originally a book written by Michael Crichton, who also wrote the similar theme park misadventure "Westworld." The original film spawned two sequels, seemingly ending the saga in 2001. However, the series was revamped in 2015 with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard opening a bigger and better theme park called "Jurassic World."
This new iteration was initially viewed as a reboot of the franchise following recent trends in the film industry. However, when contextualized within the world of "Jurassic World," this new trilogy is actually a legacy sequel, like the approach to John Carpenter's "Halloween" franchise. The first park exists and is acknowledged within this world, and some familiar faces even return in the final installment.
"Jurassic World" received a warm welcome from both critics and fans alike, with impressive Rotten Tomatoes scores of 71% and 78%. Audiences seemed to enjoy this thrilling return to the park, but unfortunately, the volcanic sequel "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" fell to a dismal 48%, destroying both the island and faith in the franchise. The third and final film divided critics and fans with contrasting scores of experts 29% and returning theatergoers 77%. This surprising division sparked a response from stars of the series and even an extended cut of "Jurassic World: Dominion."
Neill's particular difficulty in the Jurassic Park franchise
The original "Jurassic Park" starred Sam Neill as paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, Laura Dern as paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler, and Jeff Goldblum as mathematician/"Chaos Theory" expert Dr. Ian Malcolm. This iconic trio guided viewers through the beauty and perils of "Jurassic Park" led by esteemed director Steven Spielberg. The film was revolutionary on all fronts with a talented cast, new-aged computer-generated images (CGI) blended with astonishing practical effects and animatronics, and Spielberg's riveting direction, leaving colossal shoes to fill.
One of the lesser-known elements in this movie's magic is Neill's uncanny ability to flip between his American accent and normal speaking voice. In a video interview with Vanity Fair, he reveals these details while reminiscing about the first film, including his experience working with the legendary director. "Sam Neill's American accent in "Jurassic Park" was a load of T-Rex poo," he declared while laughing with his co-star.
Neill continues by sharing how he and Spielberg landed his character's signature dialect. "On day one, and it was the day we fried the kid on the electric fence," he described, reflecting his character's nonchalance towards children. He continued by revealing halfway through the day, the director approached him asking him to scrap the accent he'd been working on and use his regular speaking voice instead. Neill was relieved until four days later, Spielberg came to him again, joking about his voice and suggesting a new take asking for "somewhere in between."