“Jurassic Park” became an instant classic when it was released 25 years ago today, and the killer T. rex and her prehistoric pals deserve much of the credit for that (along with their puppet master, Steven Spielberg). But the cast was first-rate, too: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, and the late great Richard Attenborough.
But since then, no cast member has been more celebrated (or at least memed) than Jeff Goldblum, who got all the best lines as Dr. Ian Malcolm, the resident devil’s advocate and chaos theory reciter.
In a recent “Role Recall” interview, Goldblum told Yahoo Entertainment about a couple of his most memorable moments, beginning with the now infamous scene that has an injured Malcolm showing some skin as he lays seductively on a couch during the height of the film’s chaos.
“I’m suffering. … I’m stoically and manfully bearing up with some kind of pain,” Goldblum explained. “And, well, it’s Hawaii — or, well, it’s supposed to be Costa Rica — so things are hot and I’m sure I’m in some kind of fever. So all of the logic is that you have to get some of these wet clothes off, immediately.”
Goldblum doesn’t remember whose idea it was for him to disrobe, but he is well aware of its place in contemporary pop culture. “Now we have to look at pictures of it, and paintings of it,” he said before referencing popular toy brand Funko, which took the scene to a whole new level recently by offering a Malcolm figure that has his chest exposed.
Fans have also latched on to Malcolm’s goofy laugh (or “suggestive gurgle,” as the actor calls it) during an early scene on a helicopter. It’s gotten an EDM remix that has over 3 million views. And one YouTube enthusiast even strung it together for a 10-hour loop. The video has received 600,000 views.
“That was one of the first things we shot,” Goldblum remembered. “We were just on me, and it just occurred. I don’t even think it said [I laugh] in the script.”
Who knew we’d still be talking about it 25 years later? And listening to it for 10 hours straight!
Watch our full “Role Recall” interview with Jeff Goldblum:
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