Laura Dern says 21-year age gap with Jurassic Park co-star Sam Neill has ‘only now’ felt inappropriate
Dern said that the age gap had felt ‘completely appropriate’ at the time
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Laura Dern has said that she never considered the age gap between herself and Sam Neill in Jurassic Park to be inappropriate until recent years.
Dern was just 23 when she starred in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film, while her co-star Neill was 44.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Neill noted that Dern was a “tender age” when they shot the film.
Dern, however, said that at the time “it felt completely appropriate to fall in love with Sam Neill”.
“And it was only now, when we returned in a moment of cultural awareness about the patriarchy, that I was, like, ‘Wow! We’re not the same age?’” she said.
Discussing his own experience of the age gap, Neill said: “I am 20 years older than Laura! Which at the time was a completely appropriate age difference for a leading man and lady.”
He continued: “It never occurred to me until I opened a magazine and there was an article called ‘Old geezers and gals’. People like Harrison Ford and Sean Connery acting with much younger people. And there I was, on the list. I thought, ‘Come on. It can’t be true.’”
Dern and Neill are reprising their Jurassic Park roles in Jurassic World Dominion, which is released on 10 June.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments