Those of us of a certain age will always remember watching Jurassic Park on the big screen for the first time and the indelible images that have stuck with us ever since – there’s the first sight of the brachiosaurus, the T-Rex attack, the gallimimus flock, the velociraptors in the kitchen. But nothing remained burned in the brain like the site of Jeff Goldblum with his shirt wide opening, chest glistening with sweat…for no discernible reason.
This particular moment has since become iconic of course – leading to a meme of a mini Sam Neill leaning against Goldblum’s chest (instead of the wounded triceratops), a giant statue in London, and of course its own Funko Pop. A now silver-haired Goldblum recreated the image in 2020, in an effort to get people to vote.
The scene has of course been brought up to Goldblum many times since, with him claiming not to remember how or why his shirt accidentally flew open, or why he was so sexily propped up on one arm like a Playgirl centre-fold. During the promotion for Jurassic World: Dominion, Laura Dern helpfully reminded him why it came about.
Speaking to SiriusXM [via CinemaBlend], Goldblum revealed that Dern had reminded him of his motivation during the important scene; “I don’t think maybe you see it much, but I think I was injured also around [my abdomen]. And there were bandages and there was blood and I think we were attending to that, etc… I forgot about it entirely, it was just Laura that reminded me yesterday that’s maybe what happened.”
Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill have reunited for the third and final Jurassic World movie – Dominion – which is still available in theatres. Unfortunately, Goldblum did not recreate this classic moment, but there’s still plenty to enjoy from the original trio.
If you’re a Jurassic Park fan, check out our guide to the best adventure movies.