Jeff Goldblum is an icon for many reasons and for many roles, but there is none more memetic than his shirtless scene in Jurassic Park. it has been enshrined in plastic, and you can find tributes to it everywhere on the internet and even on late night. And after years of joking about it, Goldblum and some other Jurassic Park personnel have revealed the truth.
If you’re unfamiliar with the context, let us set the stage. Dr. Ian Malcolm has his leg injured and is in severe pain. But, for some reason, when we see him in supposed agony, well, look up top. His shirt’s unbuttoned and he looks like he’s ready to show Dr. Sattler and/or Dr. Grant just how life finds a way. It’s the second most hilariously jarring moment in the movie, with the first being that you can score Dennis Nedry’s death to the chorus of “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” if you time it right. Seriously, try it, it syncs right up!
Anyway, Goldblum has offered a few tidbits before, explaining his character’s justification for unbuttoning his shirt (“Costa Rica is really hot and so was I,” basically), which is fun. But sadly more often than not these claims are mere legend applied after the fact. So during the 25th anniversary celebration of Jurassic Park‘s theatrical debut, it came out that not only that it really was improvised on the spot, but that it wasn’t even a topic of debate or discussion. Goldblum just did it without asking.
I asked Jeff Goldbum during #JP25 what he remembers about shooting his iconic & smoldering shirtless scene. He told me it WAS NOT scripted. The AD was on stage and confirmed Goldblum made the decision to unbutton his shirt and everyone just went with it. What an absolute legend. pic.twitter.com/0gRxBlHtE9
— (((Jordan Vogt-Roberts))) (@VogtRoberts) May 14, 2018
Yes, despite the fact that it makes absolutely zero sense outside of a still image, Goldblum was still allowed to turn his sickbed scene into a Cosmopolitan shoot because he was just that good. Or at least his abs were. We wonder if he tried to get away with it during his scenes in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. There’s no “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” sign on the door of Congress, after all.
(via Twitter)