Quotes

I don't think of it that way. I'm just flattered playing smart guys who get to figure out before anybody else what's going on. So that's awfully fun.

I got good grades in school, but I was in a little school and a small town out of Pittsburgh, not academically demanding or ambitious, I don't know how much that says but I was not that science thrilled I was more in to playing sports, jazz, painting and acting, stuff like that, but recently because of playing these parts I've gotten more interested in science, my dad was a doctor, and I'm reading this Carl Sagan book that makes science, see the way he talks about it is very aliquot, makes it seems kind of human kind of romantic and wondrous, spirituals, sexy vermeil, its very attractive book that he just wrote.

I grew up watching sci-fi and monster movies like I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and all those creepy old Vincent Price horror movies. They made a huge impression on me and I think that's what Independence Day (1996) is going to do for a whole generation of youngsters. It's going to be their favorite nightmare.

I mean, forget about Jurassic Park (1993), I remember the real-event movie when I was a kid was "King Kong Vs. Godzilla" (King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)). There was a theatre outside of Pittsburgh where I grew up, a real jewel box inside, three balconies.

I've been lucky. And thank goodness the (sci-fi films) I've done have been good movies. I feel like some kind of lucky star has, for now, shone on me.

It is psychologically unsettling. But I think we've made something more sophisticated than just a slasher movie, because of the family drama in it. The Fly (1986) could have been something else (meaning a cheap monster movie). But I think we raised that to something smarter. It's a love story and something that has poetry in it and majesty and real tragedy.

It's okay. I don't mind being, you know to try and subordinate my moods, and reflexes and impulses sometimes and have to be sweet descent and nice, I don't think that's a bad thing, especially I don't think I would have that if I didn't have acting as an outlet, because acting asks you demands you and allows you to be reactive passionate all of yourself, your authentic self in fact your more naked self, your enraged self, your jerky self, your self, its a great outlet so in life if we have to be, you don't want to be phony, but its not a bad idea to have to sidestep your negativity, to count to ten sometimes do the right thing be sweet to people figure out what you can do to contribute in a situation, and that's not a bad thing.

It's been fun, obviously if you want to be an actor and you think of being successful you always thought that would go along with it, I never thought that was a horrible thing, in fact I've enjoyed it, it's a sweet thing you feel on most encounters, like it's an amazing rare thing that you feel connected to people in a way you're not strangers, you're not bumping into people and they go hey! They're going hey it's you and I'm glad to see you and I like you, and that's a delicious wonderful thing for the most part, it gives you a sense of responsibility so you can't misbehave without being talked about, you know people are going to say, "You know who was a real jerk today? Jeff Goldblum!", so you got to be, but that's a good thing, if we all knew we were going to be reported about and couldn't be anonymous that's not a bad thing, but sometimes you can't exactly, sometimes you want to be private, and it can be embarrassing, or not so nice, but for the most part it's great.

Not to mention life, which continues to be a challenge, and which I continue to try and get better at.

Well, well, well! It's certainly a compelling provocative exciting delicious to think about idea, smart people say the universe is so big there must be something statistically it could be likely there could be something happening on some other world.

When I'm in a happy state of mind, I often am in Los Angeles, recently you know those Fantasy Tour vans that go around, I don't know what they're looking at, they're looking at studios and things like that, when I pass them in my car sometimes I roll down the window and point myself out to them, sometimes they don't notice me, and I'll go "Okay, never mind", but sometimes they go "Oh ladies and gentleman, to the right we have Jeff Goldblum.".

[on his relationship with Geena Davis after their divorce]: We are good friends and she's a wonderful person and a wonderful actress.

[on Laura Dern]: Well, you know, I'm very easily stirred. And she's a remarkable woman. So I was struck with that from the beginning. But it wasn't until the film was over that we formed an alliance. I had been discreetly casting glances across the dinosaur. It's mysterious what attracts you to a person.

[on the success of Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Independence Day (1996)]: The success of these three movies has certainly made my life less stressful and I'm having great fun slaying aliens and dinosaurs.

[on watching himself act]: It was odd because I hadn't seen much of what we had done until I saw it all put together up there. So I'm watching everybody, but I care mostly about me [laughs]. So I'm watching and thinking, "Good, Jeff. That's nice, Jeff. Yes, Jeff, go for it. Oh, YES, Jeff.".

At its best, life is surprising. Maybe, because that's my appetite, the frontier is uncharted. But it suits me fine. I've gotten used to that. Some people couldn't bear it, but I like that life.