Jurassic Park stars Laura Dern and Sam Neill have spoken out about the age difference between them after they were cast as the romantically-involved leads in the original 1993 movie.
Laura has played Dr. Ellie Sattler in three of the franchise’s releases, including the latest, Jurassic World Dominion, alongside Sam as her boyfriend, Dr. Alan Grant.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the actors address their twenty year age-gap.
“At the time [it] was a completely appropriate age difference for a leading man and lady,” Sam, who is now 74, told the newspaper.
“It never occurred to me until I opened a magazine and there was an article called ‘Old geezers and gals’. People like Harrison Ford and Sean Connery acting with much younger people. And there I was, on the list. I thought, ‘Come on. It can’t be true’.”
Despite the age gap, Laura insists it felt “completely appropriate to fall in love with Sam Neill”.
The 55-year-old added: “And it was only now, when we returned in a moment of cultural awareness about the patriarchy, that I was, like, ‘Wow! We’re not the same age?’”
The two stars also talked about how the latest release in the franchise differs from the original, which took 45 minutes for anyone to catch a glimpse of one of the dinosaurs.
“An audience 30 years later wouldn’t find that pace acceptable,” Sam says. “As a result this has action from the moment the lights go down. Though of course it has quiet moments.”
Laura then teases: “It’s very romantic.”
Jurassic Park Dominion is in cinemas from 10 June. Watch the trailer below...