Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park in 1993 was a very popular movie.  It spawned two sequels, that were not quite as good.  I am sure it helped a lot of careers along the way.

The principal actors need not be covered here.  Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sir Richard Attenborough don't need me to write about them.  Although, Laura Dern is the daughter of Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, for those of you who read yesterday's post.  (Bruce Dern shot John Wayne in the back in The Cowboys from 1972.)

Joseph Mazzello (b. 1983) played Tim Murphy, Attenborough's grandson.  J.P. was his sixth acting role.  He started at age seven.  His acting career is going well, and he is a talented performer.  He recently appeared in a TV mini series called "The Pacific" about our involvement in that front of WWII.  It was a very good series, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.  Don't miss it!

Ariana Richards (b. 1979) played his sister, Lex.  She had 25 roles pre-J.P. and about ten after.  She was the little girl in Tremors (1990) who always jumped on her pogo stick.  She also appeared in Prancer (1989).  After completing college, she became an artist.  Way to go, Ariana!  Get out of this crazy business!

Mazello and Richards both appeared in the first sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.

Can you qualify Wayne Knight (b. 1955) as a Bit Actor?  He played Dennis Nedry, the computer programmer.  He has appeared 81 times in movies and on TV.  I don't even remember him in Dirty Dancing (1987).  J.P. came after he was in Everybody's All-American (1988); Born on the Fourth of July (1989); V.I. Warshawski, Dead Again and JFK, all in 1991; and Basic Instinct (1992).  He was a riot in Basic Instinct, watching Sharon Stone uncrossing her legs and trying to stay cool.  Knight has made a place for himself on TV series' and also doing voices.

There was also Bob Peck (1945 - 1999) who played the hunter/security chief Robert Muldoon.  He has 44 roles to his credit.  And don't forget Martin Ferrero (b. 1947) as the scum-sucking lawyer Donald Gennaro.  Ferrero also has 44 roles in his list, including Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1993) and Get Shorty (1995).

I think Jurassic Park has a place on the must see list.  The special effects alone make it a blockbuster.  It was ranked #1 in 1993, grossing over $357,000,000, and won three Oscars for effects and sound.