It’s exciting to think that Independence Day: Resurgence is released in cinemas on June 23rd with Jeff Goldblum reprising his role as quirky, planet conscious cable technician David Levinson from the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day. With the long awaited sequel less than a month away, we’re obviously bubbling over with trepidation. His character may have been a little grumpy, cynical, and had some personal issues…but hey, who doesn’t? That’s why we love the characters he portrays, because they are unapologetic and remind us that sometimes it’s okay to not give a damn. Just take a look at some of his most memorable roles.
The Big Chill
It was like a coming of age story but for adults. College friends get together for a weekend to attend their friend’s funeral, and together reminisce that their lives aren’t exactly panning out as they had dreamed it would. But together they accept these changes. Goldblum plays Michael, a reporter that, how do you put this? Has a weakness for the ladies? Except that although he’s happy with his many conquests, he realizes he doesn’t want this lifestyle anymore and wishes to just settle down.
The Fly
A character in which his physique had women going weak at the knees is never a bad thing to be accountable for (obviously when he’s in human form)! Goldblum’s character Seth Brundle has invented a chamber in which he tests the ability to teleport. After many successful runs including a living subject, he tests it on himself to impress a journalist. However, out of casual coincidence, a fly somehow makes it into the chamber as Seth steps in. The rest of the movie is a bit like a werewolf/vampire horror. A werewolf because of the horrific metamorphic scenes that are both graphic and hair raising, and a vampire horror because the changes he is going through might possibly be permanent.
Jurassic Park
Goldblum portrays Dr. Ian Malcolm, a mathematician invited to a top secret island called Isla Nublar wherein scientists had begun cloning dinosaurs. InGen (the company behind this) invited him for his theories and advice on their cloning of dinosaurs which he most surely gave with the classic line ‘Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.’ The shirtless scene, the T-Rex chase in the jeep and the endless one liners held Goldblum to high acclaim and most certainly cemented him as a national treasure to all.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Returning to this phenomenal franchise heralded by Steven Spielberg, Jeff Goldblum returns as Dr Ian Malcolm. Summoned to CEO of InGen John Hammonds private residence, Dr Malcolm is informed that though Jurassic Park was destroyed, a second site was created with the extinct species now breeding. Hammond wants Goldblum’s loveable rogue of a character to observe and document these animals before his financiers try and take them by force. Maybe not as strong as the first film’s calibre, it’s definitely well worth a watch for Goldblum alone.
The Life Aquatic
Maybe not graced with as much praise as it deserved, this Wes Anderson classic told the tale of Steve Zissou, an oceanographer intent on avenging the death of his crewmate who was devoured by a rare shark. Along the way, he bumps into many past and present figures from his life whom one of which is Alistair Hennessey, another successful oceanographer living in a secluded research site who is played by Goldblum. Somehow his role acts as a sequel to his previous scientific characters and if further explored, what those personalities’ lives could have ended up as. It’s definitely another addition to the Jeff Goldblum line up, just for his sublime choice of attire.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Genuinely, if you haven’t seen this film, where have you been?! A merry hunt is afoot for the prized ‘Boy With an Apple’ painting that is bequeathed to Gustave H, the concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel. Jeff Goldblum plays the stylish and fancy Deputy Kovacs, a lawyer for the family whose mother has just been murdered and left the priceless painting to Ralph Fiennes character. It’s Deputy Kovacs job to investigate this whole mystery and get to the bottom of who exactly the painting belongs to. He has a fantastic moustache to boot but Goldblum really excels in being the untrusting, mysterious and fair minded lawyer.
Independence Day: Resurgence arrives in UK&Irish cinemas from 23rd June.
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