{"id":34220,"date":"2023-06-24T09:02:15","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T07:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1849006"},"modified":"2023-06-25T05:33:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-25T03:33:09","slug":"jurassic-park-at-30-lex-star-ariana-richards-breaks-down-iconic-scenes-2","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/jurassic-park-at-30-lex-star-ariana-richards-breaks-down-iconic-scenes-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Jurassic Park at 30: Lex star Ariana Richards breaks down iconic scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Jurassic Park turns 30, Ariana Richards speaks exclusively to RadioTimes.com about one of the most influential films of all time. <\/p>

By Louise Griffin\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 24 June 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Ariana Richards\u2019s audition for Jurassic Park was intense to say the least.<\/p>\n

At the age of 12, when auditioning for the role of Lex Murphy, the granddaughter of park creator John Hammond (played by the late Richard Attenborough), she wasn\u2019t asked to read lines \u2013 simply to scream at the top of her lungs.<\/p>\n

As the iconic film turns 30, the actress and artist tells RadioTimes.com<\/a>: \u201cI had been acting for a few years before Jurassic Park so I was pretty used to the audition process, but this was an unusual one because it was highly top secret. They were keeping everything under wraps so I was not given a script, I wasn\u2019t even given a standard section of a script, called sides, to look over before I auditioned, so it was very much a mystery. I was just called in to do an audition and be put on tape screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

She recalls: \u201cThe casting person just said to me, \u2018So, Ariana, we\u2019re going to put you on tape to share with Steven [Spielberg] and you\u2019re going to act like a dinosaur is attacking you. You just have to imagine this is happening and we want you to let loose and scream.\u2019 That was my entire audition, it was the weirdest audition I\u2019ve ever done in my life!\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly though, she smashed it, as weeks later, while planning a trip to Disney World, she was invited to meet Spielberg, who told her she got the role. Not long afterwards, she was surrounded by a cast of Attenborough (Hammond), Laura Dern<\/a> (Ellie Sattler), Sam Neill (Alan Grant) and Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm) \u2013 and, of course, a set full of dinosaurs.<\/p>\n

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Sam Neill and Ariana Richards in Jurassic Park.<\/span><\/figcaption> Universal\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cI enjoy the cast so much,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWhen it comes to dear Richard, I miss him so much. He was so special, just being on set with him. Richard was so grandfatherly as a person as well, just hanging out with him, hearing his stories, hearing what it was like for him directing, he was just happy to regale me with stories in between filming. There was always that time in between takes where we would get to spend time sitting with the other actors and we got to talking. It was really something else to talk with him. I just had such a blast.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds: \u201cJeff Goldblum was an absolute hoot. He was so funny, he was always just goofing around, making us laugh. Even just being himself, he was so funny all of the time. I would sit next to him, preparing for a scene, and most actors I would hang out with would read their script silently or practice their lines \u2013 but not Jeff. He was just full colour. He was reading his lines, speed-reading them, out loud.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Spielberg himself? \u201cHe\u2019s a genius. Steven is so gifted when it comes to working with children \u2013 he made it fun, he made it feel like I wasn\u2019t being directed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richards also remembers the legendary director taking charge when the set in Hawaii was catastrophically hit by a hurricane.<\/p>\n

\""Ariana\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Ariana Richards at the premiere of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.<\/span><\/figcaption> Michael Tran\/FilmMagic<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201c[We all] gathered at the ballroom at the bottom of the hotel and we just waited it out \u2013 it was literally about 12 hours. I remember the eye of the hurricane going over us. I think that one of the most interesting parts was Steven telling us ghost stories. I think I found the ghost stories more scary than the hurricane, honestly!\u201d<\/p>\n

The actress\u2019s role itself also stands out 30 years later for all the best reasons. In the film, the roles of Lex and her brother Tim (Joseph Mazzello) are reversed from the novel, making Lex the clever older sister who saves the day by hacking into the systems and getting Jurassic Park back online.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really touched that Steven gave me that opportunity as a young actor because I don\u2019t think it was commonplace at the time for a young female actress to be given that type of role in a movie of this magnitude, and get the chance to show intelligence and technology and computer know-how. To actually be a hacker and be able to put her skills together, to show courage and save the day,\u201d Richards points out.<\/p>\n