Jurassic World: Dominion star and one of the original cast members of Jurassic Park, Sam Neill, has revealed that an animal on his farm is named after Jeff Goldblum. Known for portraying the crotchety Dr. Alan Grant, Neill’s role in Dominion marks the third time that he’s returned for a sequel in the highly successful dinosaur franchise.

It was during Jurassic Park that Grant and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) first became acquainted, as they struggled to stay one step ahead of some very lethal dinosaurs run amok. But while Goldblum returned for the somewhat ill-fated 1997 sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Neill remained noticeably absent. Then, when Neill did return to the franchise in 2001 for Jurassic Park III, Goldblum wasn’t onboard. It seemed the two weren’t likely to work together again on the franchise. That is, until Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World series reached its third and final installment with the upcoming Dominion. Throughout the notoriously difficult production that Dominion faced, Neill and Goldblum have proven themselves old friends with nothing but respect for one another. However, that mutual appreciation appears to have ventured into some strange new territory.

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During an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Neill was asked about the New Zealand farm where he resides. With a variety of animals roaming about on the premises, the big question appeared to be whether or not he’s named any of them after Dominion castmate Chris Pratt. As it so happens, Neill has yet to use that particular name, but he did admit that he’s made a “retired ram” Goldblum’s namesake:

There’s Jeff Goldblum up there [looking out of his window] – I can just see him in distance, just up by the power pylon there. He’s a retired ram. He’s got a couple of mates.

Sam Neill and Laura Dern in Jurassic Park

At present, it’s unknown just what Goldblum thinks about having a retired ram named after him, but he’s not the only celebrity to receive such treatment. Neill had previously named one of the hens on his farm after Kate Winslet. The two worked together fairly recently on 2019’s Blackheart. It does seem that getting an animal named after you at Neill’s farm is a bit of an honor, and considering that Goldblum has previously been associated with such unflattering film characters as a human/fly hybrid in The Fly and a scrappy mutt in Isle of Dogs, a retired ram with a couple of mates doesn’t seem all that bad.

At any rate, the biggest concern for Neill and Goldblum at this time is how they are going to reunite on screen in Jurassic World: Dominion to deal with what is unquestioningly going to be a finale of grand proportions. As previously mentioned, the pairing of the two stars in the upcoming film marks a milestone of sorts, and after nearly thirty years spent apart from one another in a franchise they helped ignite, the world is ready for whatever comes next.

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Source: Rotten Tomatoes

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