Jurassic Park's Age Gap Between Ellie & Alan Was Inappropriate, Says Dern
Dr. Ellie Sattler actor Laura Dern says the significant age gap between her character and Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park was inappropriate. First released in 1993, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park quickly become a massive hit as audiences flocked to see dinosaurs come to life on the big screen like never before. The film follows paleontologists Ellie and Alan (Sam Neill) as they tour a state-of-the-art dinosaur theme park that quickly devolves into a nightmarish struggle to survive after some of the dinosaurs escape their enclosures.
Dern would not appear in the film's immediate sequel, 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park, but did appear in a somewhat minimal role in the third film, Jurassic Park III. In the first film, Ellie and Alan were engaged in a romantic relationship, but the two characters disagreed on whether or not to have children. By the divisive Jurassic Park III, however, Ellie and Alan were no longer together and Ellie was married with children, although the two characters remained on friendly terms. Dern is slated to reprise her role once more in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion alongside original Jurassic Park co-stars Neill and Jeff Goldblum, which is scheduled to release later this summer.
Related: Jurassic Park: Why Alan Grant & Ellie Sattler Didn't Return In The Lost World
In a new interview with The Times, Dern reflects on her role in the original Jurassic Park, in particular the significant age gap between her and Neill. Dern was 23 during the filming of Jurassic Park while Neill was a full 20 years older, with Dern pointing out the notable discrepancy after Neill says, «I am 20 years older than Laura!» Read Dern's full response below:
Which at the time was a completely appropriate age
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