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By Lillie Liska
Steven Spielberg almost had a very different Dr. Alan Grant.
“He may not remember that, but I sure do,” the legendary director said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast about actor Harrison Ford’s decision to pass on the iconic JURASSIC PARK role. “I wasn’t cross, I was crushed — but then Sam Neill came available and he’s Alan Grant. It now belongs to him.”
The confession came during a wide-ranging conversation with DISCLOSURE DAY co-star actress Emily Blunt, who pressed Spielberg on whether Ford’s decline had annoyed him. At the time Ford had just wrapped his run as Indiana Jones and was steering toward dramas and standalone action projects, reportedly reluctant to lock into yet another franchise. Spielberg offered no reason for the pass — just that gut-punch memory of it.
Hard to argue with how it played out, though. Actor Sam Neill’s portrayal of the dry, dinosaur-skeptical paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant is one of those right-man-right-role moments Hollywood doesn’t always manage. Opposite actress Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler and actor Jeff Goldblum as the chaos-theorizing Dr. Ian Malcolm, the central trio hit something close to perfect.
Movieguide® reviewed the original JURASSIC PARK when it opened in June 1993 — and while the publication awarded it a rare four-star quality rating, the content concerns were serious. Our review called it “an excessively violent and frightening film that is bound to scare young children,” despite heavy marketing aimed at families. The movie earned a -2 content rating from Movieguide® — extreme caution for older teenagers and adults only.
Related: This JURASSIC PARK Star Is Cancer-Free!
The Movieguide® review drew a pointed comparison: “Like John Hammond, Steven Spielberg has gotten too caught up in the marketing of this creation and forgotten his responsibility to those who see it.” Even Spielberg seemed to sense something was off at the time — he reportedly said he would not take his own children to see the movie.
Whatever the content concerns, the filmmaking itself was something new. Spielberg’s dinosaurs rewrote what audiences expected from visual effects, and the movie still stands as a landmark technical achievement more than three decades on.
The same podcast surfaced another remarkable piece of behind-the-scenes history. During production in Kauai, the crew got caught directly in the path of Hurricane Iniki — a category 5 storm that made landfall in September 1992.
“We were in Kauai and Iniki made landfall at our hotel,” Spielberg said. “Not like five miles up the beach from our hotel or in the other direction — we were landfall.” The entire cast and crew sheltered in a conference room 18 feet below sea level, saved by a breakwater that kept the sea from flooding their position completely.
As for Ford: no sign the friendship suffered. The two had made all four INDIANA JONES movies together by that point, and by all accounts they remained close. Still, Spielberg’s word choice stands out. Not frustrated. Not confused. Crushed.
It says something about how badly he wanted Ford in that role — and something equally telling about Hollywood that what felt like a real blow in 1992 turned into 33 years of Sam Neill being exactly who Alan Grant is supposed to be.
Spielberg’s latest, DISCLOSURE DAY, is in theaters now.
Read Next: Harrison Ford Landed INDIANA JONES Role After Tom Selleck Turned it Down
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