Sam Neill recalls being "slightly upset" by the "Jurassic Park" marketing campaign

After announcing his cancer diagnosis (and subsequently reassuring his fans that he was in remission) earlier this month, Sam Neill turned his fans' attention to happier matters when he posted his new memoir "Did I Ever Tell You This?" The book is filled with behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Neill's extensive filmography, including "The Piano" and "Peaky Blinders".

But of course, Neill's stories about the making of "Jurassic Park" had to attract the most people. The actor landed one of the most important roles of his career when Steven Spielberg cast him for his 1993 dinosaur classic, but feared he was the right candidate for the part.

“I was rocked by the usual insecurities,” Neill writes in his book. "Why me? I'm definitely not an action hero. The idea of me going hand-in-hand with Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger is just absurd. I'm more the regular on-screen guy. If in indeed I was supposed to be that kind of action guy, I was already, I think, forty-five, and as always I had left things about ten or fifteen years too late."
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According to Neill, these feelings were compounded when the film's marketing campaign made it clear that the real stars of the film were the CGI dinosaurs, not the actors.

"The impostor syndrome would get worse later when we were promoting the movie," he wrote. "The more or less official line from Universal Pictures was that with 'Jurassic Park' they set out to prove that they could, with Spielberg, make huge blockbusters without 'movie stars'. That was true enough. , but I think it slightly annoyed us actors to remind ourselves from time to time that we weren't real 'stars.' He also rather overlooked the well-established and well-respected careers of Laura, Jeff and Dicky. Ultimately, we now know that Harrison Ford turned down the role, so the "no movie star" plan may not be entirely true."

That said, Neill made it clear that his grievances with the film's marketing were a small price to pay for being in such an iconic film.

"I stress the word 'slightly' because more than anything, we were all thrilled to work with Steven," he wrote. "And working on something that would be absolutely groundbreaking, as it turned out."

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Movies Mar 26, 2023 0 42 Add to Reading List

Sam Neill recalls being "slightly upset" by the "Jurassic Park" marketing campaign

After announcing his cancer diagnosis (and subsequently reassuring his fans that he was in remission) earlier this month, Sam Neill turned his fans' attention to happier matters when he posted his new memoir "Did I Ever Tell You This?" The book is filled with behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Neill's extensive filmography, including "The Piano" and "Peaky Blinders".

But of course, Neill's stories about the making of "Jurassic Park" had to attract the most people. The actor landed one of the most important roles of his career when Steven Spielberg cast him for his 1993 dinosaur classic, but feared he was the right candidate for the part.

“I was rocked by the usual insecurities,” Neill writes in his book. "Why me? I'm definitely not an action hero. The idea of me going hand-in-hand with Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger is just absurd. I'm more the regular on-screen guy. If in indeed I was supposed to be that kind of action guy, I was already, I think, forty-five, and as always I had left things about ten or fifteen years too late."

Related Related

According to Neill, these feelings were compounded when the film's marketing campaign made it clear that the real stars of the film were the CGI dinosaurs, not the actors.

"The impostor syndrome would get worse later when we were promoting the movie," he wrote. "The more or less official line from Universal Pictures was that with 'Jurassic Park' they set out to prove that they could, with Spielberg, make huge blockbusters without 'movie stars'. That was true enough. , but I think it slightly annoyed us actors to remind ourselves from time to time that we weren't real 'stars.' He also rather overlooked the well-established and well-respected careers of Laura, Jeff and Dicky. Ultimately, we now know that Harrison Ford turned down the role, so the "no movie star" plan may not be entirely true."

That said, Neill made it clear that his grievances with the film's marketing were a small price to pay for being in such an iconic film.

"I stress the word 'slightly' because more than anything, we were all thrilled to work with Steven," he wrote. "And working on something that would be absolutely groundbreaking, as it turned out."