Jurassic Park It easily ranks among the most iconic franchises in the history of world cinema, also within the repertoire of its director Steven Spielberg. With a revolutionary and flawless use of CGI that still holds up to this day, this 1993 film is based on Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name and features billionaire businessman John Hammond’s latest venture: a wildlife park for extinct dinosaurs found on Isle Nublar. In order to obtain the safety certification required by investors before opening, Hammond invites a group of scientists and his descendants to visit the facilities, but after the park’s power systems fail to allow the dinosaurs to roam freely, all visitors must face the daunting task of making it out alive off the island. .
The success of this 1990s film was overwhelming: not only did it prove to be a hit among critics, but it also managed to rank as the highest-grossing film of all time for four years, until TitanicIt was launched in the year 1997. The previous film to hold this record was any. t. extra terrestrialAnother one of Spielberg’s masterpieces. Jurassic Park It became a hugely popular production that started a franchise spanning five series that is still going strong to this day.
Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Ariana Richards, and Joseph Mazzello were the actors cast to portray the protagonists of this popular sci-fi blockbuster. Undoubtedly, Jurassic Park It also marks a turning point in all of these actors’ careers. But, as with most film projects, many other actors were auditioned and given the chance to join this legendary actor, but for various reasons, they ended up not being successful. Here are 10 stars who could have starred Jurassic Park.
Harrison Ford
Sam Neill was the actor chosen to portray paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, an actor who certainly took on the character in the best possible way. Although it is difficult to imagine Jurassic Park Without Neil, the story could have gone very differently, because it was, in fact, Spielberg’s first choice Harrison Ford. By then, the actor was already known worldwide for his starring roles in two of the biggest movie franchises: star Wars And Indiana Joneswith which he worked Jurassic Parkboss.
A third film could have been added to these two franchises, as Harrison was the first actor to be offered the part of Alan Grant, as Spielberg was so convinced he could play the lead in this production. However, Ford ended up turning down the role, and while the reasons behind his decision are unknown, he may have been looking to play other types of characters.
Juliette Binoche
French actress and dancer Juliette Binoche He was one of the first artists the filmmakers considered to play paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler after Laura Dern. By then, she had gained some relevance with films like The unbearable lightness of being And Les Amants du Pont Neuf.
Binoche turned down the director’s offer mainly for one reason: She had already committed to Krzysztof Kieślowski to star in the film. Three colors: bluethe first batch of The tricolor trio. This production, which premiered the same year as Jurassic Park, made Binoche a recognized international superstar. She was also offered a role in Schindler’s Listanother Spielberg film also mooted in 1993, but she also turned it down.
Jim Carrey
The 1990s was a momentous decade for the actor and comedian Jim Carrey. After starring in the TV series in living colour For four years, Carey’s career blossomed, and by 1994, he was starring in films that are still considered some of his most memorable, such as Ace Ventura: Pet DetectiveAnd the mask, And Dumb and dumber.
However, a year before he starred in these comedies, he could only play the unique role of Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park. The role of a mathematician specializing in chaos theory caught Carey’s attention, so he auditioned and did remarkably well. However, the filmmakers ended up choosing Jeff Goldblum instead after realizing he was the perfect guy for the role.
Sean Connery
Actor and director Richard Attenborough has been cast to play John Hammond, owner of Jurassic Park and founder of InGen. This is one of Attenborough’s most popular films Dr. Doolittle And Miracle on 34th StreetFor example but not limited to.
However, this twisted character could have turned out very differently, as there was a chance he might land the role Sean Conneryhand. Actor, who was already world famous for playing James Bondworked with Spielberg on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade He was one of the first people considered for the role of Hammond, however he ended up turning down the role.
Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci She was another actress on this list who became world famous in the 1990s. Shortly after she made her movie debut MermaidsRichie became a worldwide sensation for playing Wednesday in the 1991 film Addams family and its complement, Addams family values.
Like many young girls, Richie, a child star at the time, auditioned for the role of Lex Murphy, John Hammond’s great-granddaughter. However, as was the case with Jeff Goldblum and his character, the filmmakers were completely won over by Ariana Richards’ performance and her abilities to convey the horror her character goes through in her Jurassic Park adventure, so it was she who landed the role.
Richard Dreyfuss
By the time Spielberg got down to business Jurassic Parkthe actor Richard Dreyfuss He was already a sensation and became the youngest artist to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film Bye girl. In addition, he has already worked with the director on three of his projects: JawsAnd close encounters of the third kind, And alwaysa romantic drama that didn’t have as much fanfare as the rest of Spielberg’s films.
Naturally, one of Stephen’s best choices was to play Dr. Alan Grant, especially since he had worked with him on previous songs. However, Dreyfus lost the project because they could not agree on economic compensation for it.
Robin Wright
Although Laura Dern was the actress Spielberg had in mind for the role of Ellie almost from the start of the project, there were several other actors who auditioned for the same part and were offered the role. Besides Binoche, Robin Wright He was one of the most considered candidates at the time.
Actress who rose to fame a few years back for her role in the movie princess brideI decided to decline the offer. A year after the premiere of this production, Wright gained worldwide popularity for her role in another classic: forrest gumpRobert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks.
Michael Keaton
At this point, there is no doubt that Jeff Goldblum was the right actor to take on the role of Dr. Ian Malcolm. However, there were many other performers besides him who could have landed the role. One of the most popular was Michael Keatonwhich by that time was hugely successful thanks to starring roles in it BeetlejuiceAnd Batman, And Batman ReturnsAll films directed by Tim Burton. Keaton was one of the actors who auditioned for the role of Ian Malcolm alongside Jim Carrey, Johnny Depp, and Michael J. Fox, among many others, though none succeeded in securing the role.
Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell He was another strong candidate to play Alan Grant. By the 1970s, this actor was already a star thanks to his work in several Disney productions, such as The computer wore tennis shoes And The strongest man in the worldand became increasingly successful as the years went by.
Russell was offered the role of a paleontologist, but was unable to come to an agreement with the production company about his expected salary, so he ended up turning down the project. Same year Jurassic ParkAfter his release, he was part of the cast special marquea western film in which he starred with Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Booth, and Michael Biehn.
Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt She was also among the actresses who auditioned to play Ellie Sattler before the part ended up in Dern’s hands. By then, she had become known for her role in the sitcom crazy of youand also appeared in productions such as Transfer And Peggy Sue got married.
Although not made Jurassic ParkHunt starred in some of the major productions of the time: in 1996, she appeared alongside Bill Paxton in Cyclone, a disaster film directed by Jan de Bont with Spielberg serving as executive producer and Michael Crichton as writer. A year later, she joined forces with Jack Nicholson as best as possiblethe project that earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress.
