Individuals are still trying to wrap their heads around the idea that actress Laura Dern was only 23 when the cameras began rolling on the 1993 smash hit Jurassic Park.
In the film, Dern and her co-star Sam Neill played fan favorites and specialists in their areas, palaeobotanist Dr Ellie Sattler and palaeontology Dr Alan Grant.
A recent interview, however, has startled viewers as the actors brought attention to both their 20-year age difference and how young she was at the time.
Dern was born in February 1967, whereas Neill was born in September 1947. With Neill emphasizing Dern’s ‘young age’ of 23 when they started work on the movie, he wondered how their opinions had changed over the years. He continued that he is 20 years Laura’s senior! which, at the time, was an entirely reasonable age gap for a starring man and lady.
Along with the age difference, many were astounded to learn how young Dern was at the time.
“Laura Dern was 23 when she co-starred in Jurassic Park with Sam Neill’ has blown my mind today,’ said one.
‘The fact that Laura Dern is 23 in Jurassic Park is absolutely freaking me out. Did people merely wear outdated clothes in the 1990s? ‘What exactly is this?’ ‘It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the notion that Laura Dern is 23 in Jurassic Park since to me she was a capital A adult in that movie, possibly even up to 50 years old,’ said one perplexed fan.
Laura Dern being 23 in Jurassic Park is really tripping me out.
— Steven (@maybe_robots) May 23, 2022
Did people just dress old in the 90s ? What is this ? pic.twitter.com/uUo1G69ayO
‘Laura Dern was just 23 years old when she starred in Jurassic Park!! ‘Even after being informed of this, I still assume she’s 35,’ one fan remarked.
Another social media user agreed, writing, ‘Laura Dern was 23 when she acted in Jurassic Park?! I would have believed she was in her forties (the age she has remained since).’
Others questioned Hollywood’s penchant for pairing much younger ladies with much older men, saying, ‘Have our minds been that perverted by casting conventions?’ I honestly assumed they were the same age [Dern and Neill].’
TIL Laura Dern was only 23 when she played Ellie in #JurassicPark, and Sam Neill was 20 years older.
— Rachael Eyre (@Alrightpunk) May 22, 2022
Have our minds been so warped by casting conventions? I honestly thought they were the same age.
Many people also noted that Dern’s real-life age at the time of filming indicated she was too young to be adequately certified as shown in the film.
‘It’s hard to think Laura Dern was just 23 when Jurassic Park was made, with Sam Neil being two decades older.’ Her character also has a PhD. ‘Unless she’s a genius, qualifying at that age is unthinkable,’ a person commented. ‘I figured she was in her 30s and he was in his 40s.’
I find it difficult to believe that Laura Dern was only 23 during the making of Jurassic Park with Sam Neil being two decades older.
— Sophie Grenham 🇭🇰🇮🇪🇺🇦 (@sophiegrenham) May 23, 2022
Plus her character has a PhD. Unless she's some kind of prodigy, a qualification at that age is impossible. I assumed she was about 30 to his 40.
‘I assumed she was doing her own palaeobotany study; else, why would she be on a dig with Sam Neill?’ another person inquired. ‘Wouldn’t a tenured palaeobotanist at an institution be in their mid-30s?’
Fans also praised the film’s team for effectively portraying Dern as a lady older than 23.
‘Kudos to the makeup and clothing teams, they did a fantastic job of making her seem like she was in her 30s,’ maybe due to the necessity to convey her character’s competence and experience, as mentioned above.
I had no idea that Laura Dern was only 23 years old when she was in that film.
— B.Bravo (@steverific) May 23, 2022
Kudos to the makeup and wardrobe departments, they did an impressive job of making her look like she was in her 30s.
Peaky Blinders actor Neill joined in on the fun, tagging his co-star and said that funny Laura has always appeared more grown up than him. Nothing has changed.
Neill stated it was “no shock” that the actress was cast in the film, regardless of her age, because she was “already an intriguing talent” who had worked with David Lynch on 1990’s Wild at Heart.
Big Little Lies actor Laura Dern also revealed her thoughts, saying she hadn’t given it much consideration despite Neil being in his early forties and her in her early twenties when they filmed.
‘It seemed entirely acceptable to fall in love with Sam Neill back then,’ she told the newspaper, adding, ‘and it was only now, when we returned to a period of cultural consciousness about the patriarchy, that I was, like, “Wow! ‘Are we the same age?’
Dern and Neill will reprise their roles in Jurassic World: Dominion, which reunites the casts of the franchise’s earlier films for one final outing.
Jurassic World: Dominion hits theaters on June 10.
Jurassic World Dominion | Trailer 2It all comes down to this. Watch the new trailer for #JurassicWorldDominion and get tickets now.
Posted by Jurassic World on Thursday, 28 April 2022
