List of characters in Jurassic Park
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of characters from Michael Crichton
's novels Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World. Details are also given on the characters' roles in Steven Spielberg
's film adaptations, Jurassic Park
and The Lost World: Jurassic Park
, as well as Jurassic Park III
. Jurassic Park III, directed by Joe Johnston
, is not an adaptation, but contains characters and events based on Crichton's novels.
, the book uses the mathematical concept of chaos theory and its philosophical implications to explain the inevitable collapse of the park.
The two film sequels take place on Isla Sorna, a nearby island known as "Site B," where the dinosaurs were engineered and nurtured for a few months, before being moved to Isla Nublar, the location of the amusement park.
Dr. Alan Grant is one of the protagonist
s in the first novel, as well as the first and third films. In the novel, Grant is described as a barrel-chested, bearded man with a strong affinity for children, especially ones interested in dinosaur
s. Grant, based on paleontologist Jack Horner
, is said to be one of the world's most renowned paleontologists, specializing in hadrosaur
and other duck-billed dinosaurs such as maiasaura
. His scientific achievements, including the first description of maiasaurs, are that of Robert R. Makela and Jack Horner. His movie persona, played by Sam Neill, has elements similar to adventure hero Indiana Jones
, such as the fact that he is commonly shown wearing a fedora-style hat.
Dr. Grant is first approached by John Hammond, the eccentric billionaire and creator of Jurassic Park, to take a tour of the park and endorse it so his investors would be more confident. Finding it hard to turn down a request from a major financial donor, Grant agrees, unaware that Hammond has managed to clone real dinosaurs. When the creatures escape, Grant becomes stranded in the park with Hammond's grandchildren. Throughout a great portion of the book, Dr. Grant and the two kids explore the park trying to find their way back to the rest of the group. In the film, much of this time is omitted, with only a few key events occurring on screen.
In the second novel, he makes only one appearance, proposing a theory that the Tyrannosaurus rex
could not function in rainy climates and writing off fellow paleontologist Richard Levine's questions about rumors surrounding InGen
cloning dinosaurs as "absurd".
The film portrays a much different personality than that of the novel. In the films, Dr. Grant has an introverted personality and does not like children. Throughout the course of the first film, however, he warms to the two children accompanying him, Tim and Lex. This was done because Spielberg wanted to "provid(e) a source of dramatic tension that did not exist in the novel". In the film, Dr. Grant specializes in velociraptor
s, and believes that birds are closely related to dinosaurs. At the end of the film, his experience on the island changes his view of children (and dinosaurs) and he decides not to endorse Jurassic Park.
He is the central character of Jurassic Park III." In the years since Jurassic Park, Grant has continued his research on raptors and has proposed theories regarding Velociraptor intelligence. Grant reluctantly agrees to join a wealthy couple for an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, Jurassic Park's 'Site B,' in exchange for funding for his dig site. Due to a plane crash, however, Dr. Grant and the others become stranded on the island. While navigating the island, he realizes, much to his dismay, that his theories about velociraptors were correct. He discovers that the raptors have advanced intelligence and communication abilities. He manages to escape the island via a rescue operation headed by Ellie Sattler.
In the Jurassic Park universe, Grant is credited with having written at least two popular books on dinosaurs. In both Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III, his works are referenced by Tim and Eric Kirby, respectively.
Portrayed by Jeff Goldblum
Dr. Ian Malcolm is another key figure in the Jurassic Park universe. The character of Ian Malcolm functions as the "ironic commentator inside the story who talks about the action as it takes place". He is a mathematician
at the Santa Fe Institute
who specializes in chaos theory
. His character is based on both Ivar Ekeland
and James Gleick
. Malcolm's all-black clothing style reflects that of Heinz-Otto Peitgen
, a mathematician who wrote a richly illustrated book on fractals.
Throughout the first novel, he makes several predictions based on chaos theory about the consequences and ultimate failure of attempting to control nature. These predictions often prove to be correct. During his time on the island, Malcolm is seriously injured during the initial Tyrannosaur attack. He survives and is brought back to the visitor's center, and spends the remainder of the novel bedridden, usually under the influence of high doses of morphine
, continuing to comment on the Park's inherent flaws and impending collapse. Though he is declared dead at the end of the novel, in the sequel, he explains that the declaration was premature. Due to timely intervention by Costa Rican surgeons, he survives the ordeal, but ends up with a permanent leg injury, requiring a cane to walk.
Malcolm is the primary protagonist of the second novel. This time, he is asked to join an expedition to Isla Sorna, Jurassic Park's secondary site, by wealthy adventurer Richard Levine. Malcolm initially declines, but decides to go when word comes back that Levine has gone alone and is trapped on the island. Malcolm takes charge of Levine's remaining expedition and mounts a rescue. The Ian Malcolm of this novel is more proactive and vigorous, and seems to know much more about dinosaurs. As in the first novel, however, Malcolm is again injured in a dinosaur attack but survives. In the film adaptation of the second novel, John Hammond hires Malcolm and others to visit the island in order to document the dinosaurs in their natural habitat. Malcolm agrees, but only to rescue his girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Harding, who had already set out for the island. Once there, the team must contend with a storm, menacing dinosaurs and a rival expedition intent on harvesting dinosaurs for a Jurassic Park-like attraction on the mainland.
Ellie Sattler is, in the novel, a graduate student studying under Dr. Alan Grant who specializes in paleobotany
. She accompanies Dr. Grant on the tour of InGen's dinosaur preserve. Though she is initially thrilled to tour the park, she is disappointed at how little attention the staff has paid to reproducing prehistoric plant life, such as by placing poisonous plants in public areas and near the swimming pools. While the rest of the group tours the Park by Land Cruiser, she stays with Dr. Harding, the park vet, to help discover the cause of sick Stegosaurus. After the T-Rex attack, she helps Dr. Harding take care of Ian Malcolm’s injuries. During the raptor assault on the visitor's center, Sattler uses herself as bait in an attempt to distract a pack of velociraptors trying to get into the lodge. Though she survives the events of the novel, she does not play a role in the sequel novel. She is mentioned in passing as having married a Berkeley
physicist, and doing guest lectures there on prehistoric pollens.
Ellie has a more dominant role in the first film than in the novel. Steven Spielberg wrote out Ed Regis completely and caused Gennaro to be killed off near the beginning of the film, making Ellie do many of the things done by Donald Gennaro in the novel. In the film, it is Ellie who ventures out of the bunker with Muldoon to bring the park's power systems back online. Additionally, in the film, Ellie is both a doctor of paleobotany and in a relationship with Dr. Grant. Spielberg did this not only to add tension to the film, but also because he felt that she didn't get enough attention in the book.
She appears briefly in Jurassic Park III
. According to the film, her relationship with Dr. Grant ended after the first film, but they remain close friends. She is married to Mark Degler, an attorney for the U.S. State Department who specializes in treaty law. They live in Washington, D.C. with their children and host Alan for dinner. Later, when he is stranded on the island, it is Ellie who Grant calls for help. She tells her husband, who sends in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines to rescue them.
John Hammond is one of the primary antagonists of the novel. He is the owner of Jurassic Park and founder of InGen. According to the novel, his full name is John Alfred Hammond, but in a video game based on the film, he is referred to as John Parker Hammond. Though he is not modeled after anyone in particular, in an interview, Crichton explained that Hammond was like the "dark side of Walt Disney". He is portrayed as a cold, eccentric CEO interested only in making a profit and succeeding in creating dinosaurs. When rehearsing to Dr. Wu why he chose to spend his money on an amusement park rather than helping mankind, Hammond replied, "That's a terrible idea. A very poor use of new technology...helping mankind (is) a very risky business. Personally, I would never help mankind."
In the novel, Hammond takes little responsibility for the park or its failures and instead blames others for anything that goes wrong. He concludes that the people he selected as the park's senior staff have character flaws that prevent his vision for the park from being realized. During the events of the novel, he remains in the relative safety of the visitor's center, continuing to believe that he is in control, even as the situation around him grows exceedingly dire. When his grandchildren get lost in the park, he maintains his belief that order will soon be restored and that the children are in no real danger. Near the end of the novel, when the staff regains control of the park, he goes outside for a walk. He rationalizes the disaster in the cold manner of a corporate systems analyst, deciding that everything that has happened was merely a fluke and that next time he will do better, believing that he can use this catastrophe to solve any later problems. While he is out, however, he is startled by the sound of a T-Rex roar, falls down a hill and breaks his ankle. He is unable to climb up the hill and is subsequently killed by a pack of procompsognathus
.
In a stark contrast to the cool, uncaring persona depicted in the novel, Hammond's portrayal is considerably different in the films. His film persona is as a sympathetic grandfather who means well and appears less interested in profit than his novel counterpart. The film's Hammond has a deeper, more emotional understanding of creating attractions for children and families, and desires to make this attraction a scientific reality (as opposed to an illusion). However, he is misguided in his steadfast belief that his creations are under control, as he underestimates the power of genetics. He also has little regard for scientific research doctrine, being more interested in the applications of genetic engineering than in the moral implications of such creations. When the security system breaks down, he and his staff work to restore power and rescue the experts and his grandchildren, while themselves remaining in a secure control room. By the film's conclusion, as he and the other survivors leave the island, he acknowledges the dangers that he has created. Hammond leaves the island willingly, but reluctantly, and is last seen pondering both the potential and the danger of what his creations represented. In the second film, he is older and appears to be in failing health. His position as CEO has been taken away by his nephew, so he devotes what resources he has left keeping the dinosaurs of Site B isolated from the rest of the world. His nephew, however, arranges a large expedition to capture as many dinosaurs as possible and rebuild Jurassic Park on the mainland. In an attempt to stop him, Hammond sends a small party, including a reluctant Ian Malcolm, to intercept them. Ultimately, the expedition is halted and Hammond is able to publicly advocate his idea to leave the dinosaurs in peace on the island.
Dr. Marty Guitierrez is an American biologist who lives in Costa Rica
. He plays an expository role in both novels. In the first novel, he identifies an unknown lizard that attacks a little girl as a Basiliscus amoratus
. He is initially unhappy with this identification because the lizard was more poisonous than expected and had three toes. He searches the beach where the she was attacked and finds the corpse of a similar lizard in the mouth of a howler monkey
, which he promptly sends to the laboratory for tropical diseases at Columbia University in New York for further study.
In the second novel, he finds and shows Richard Levine a dried up corpse of an unknown creature, oddly similar to the ones found prior to the Jurassic Park incident. He informs Levine that no one knows where these creatures are coming from.
Alexis Murphy ("Lex") is Tim Murphy's sister and John Hammond's granddaughter. A relatively outgoing girl about seven or eight with blonde hair, she is described as "a sporty young girl who loves baseball
", and wears a baseball glove slung over her shoulder and a baseball cap just about everywhere. Her selfish and childish behavior often annoys the people around her and puts her and the group in danger. Throughout the novel, she shows characteristics of her grandfather, John Hammond, such as being unkind, careless and unappreciative of the events occurring around her.
In Speilberg's 1993 film, Lex is the elder of the two siblings and has a completely different personality, similar to that of her brother's from the novel. In the film, Lex has advanced computer skills that help the survivors escape a pack of velociraptors. While initially frightened by many of the dinosaurs, Lex eventually gains maturity and courage, and is instrumental in rebooting the Park's systems. Much like Dr. Ellie Sattler, Lex's personality is improved to add strong female roles to the film. She makes a cameo in the second film when Ian Malcolm comes to visit John Hammond.
Timothy Murphy (Tim) is Lex Murphy's brother and John Hammond's grandson. He is described as a bespectacled boy of about eleven who has an interest in dinosaurs and computers. His quick thinking and encyclopedic knowledge of dinosaurs aid the group several times, and Tim is instrumental in discovering that dinosaurs have escaped the island, as well as regaining the means to warn the mainland in time. Later, Tim's ingenuity and technical knowledge allow him to navigate the Park's computer systems and reactivate the physical security systems before the Velociraptors gain access to the visitor's lodge. His expertise regarding dinosaurs rivals Dr. Grant's, and is clearly superior to that of Dr. Henry Wu, the scientist who created the dinosaurs. Already familiar with his work before they meet, Tim almost immediately strikes up a friendship with Dr. Grant. According to Grant, "it's hard not to like someone so interested in dinosaurs". Tim's father doesn't share his interest in paleontology, so the dinosaur-loving Grant forms an instant bond with Tim during their time in the park.
In Spielberg's film, Tim and Lex's personalities were swapped so that Lex was the older sibling. This was done so that Spielberg could work specifically with actor Joseph Mazzello, who was younger than Ariana Richards.
Dr. Lewis Dodgson is antagonist of the Jurassic Park series and one of the few characters that appears in both novels. His name is derived from Charles Dodgson, who wrote under the pseudonym
"Lewis Carroll".
In the Jurassic Park universe, Dodgson is an ambitious scientist who is unafraid to make aggressive moves generally considered unethical to get what he wants, saying that he "won't be held back by regulations made for lesser souls". Dodgson works for Biosyn, a company that rivals Hammond's and has a far spottier scientific reputation. Dodgson is described in the novels as more of a salesman than a scientist, and someone who specializes in both reverse-engineering and the adulteration/theft of the work of others. He hopes to get his hands on Hammond's technology in order to create dinosaurs of his own. He and his company seek to clone dinosaurs not as an attraction, but as potential test subjects for laboratory applications. He is portrayed as cold, ruthless and impatient. During the first novel, Dodgson hires Dennis Nedry to steal dinosaur embryos for his company, but the plot fails. In the sequel novel, Dodgson is much more ambitious and takes a team to Isla Sorna in an attempt to collect fertilized dinosaur eggs. Dodgson and his team, unconcerned with the dangers of these animals, are quickly killed.
Dodgson makes a short appearance in the first film and is completely written out of the second film. For the second film, his character's profit-driven actions and naivete regarding the dinosaurs are transferred to Peter Ludlow, Hammond's nephew and CEO of InGen.
John Raymond Arnold ("Ray") is Jurassic Park's chief engineer, running the main control center from the visitor center. He is described as a thin, chain-smoking man and a chronic worrier. A gifted systems engineer, Arnold had designed weapons for the U.S. military and later worked at several different theme parks and zoos before joining the Jurassic Park team. He was a grudgingly optimistic man, who maintained total faith in the computer systems and continued to believe that despite the setbacks, things would work out in the end. When Dennis Nedry locks them out of the system, Arnold, after much persuasion by Donald Gennaro, shuts off all power to the park and resets the computer-control systems. After turning the power back on, he believes the problem has been solved, when it has actually been made worse. By shutting down the main power grid, he turned off several systems that were unaffected by Nedry's lockout, including the Velociraptor paddock. He realizes his mistake many hours later, and volunteers to go outside and restore power to the main generator. Before he is able to, however, he is killed by an escaped velociraptor.
In Spielberg's 1993 film, Arnold is occasionally referred to as "Ray", although his first name is John. This was done to distinguish him from John Hammond. This Arnold has a smaller role than in the novel but retains the same personality and outlook. Arnold's death is not shown on camera, but the appearance of a severed arm confirms his death. In a deleted scene from second movie, Arnold's family is said to have received a $23 million settlement from InGen in a lawsuit regarding his death.
Donald Gennaro is the attorney sent on behalf of Jurassic Park's investors to investigate the safety of the park after several reports of missing or dead workers. He is described as a short, muscular man and represents an "everyman" personality among the characters. Though he is initially worried only about disappointing his supervisors, he soon drops this when his life is threatened, focusing on survival instead. When problems begin to occur, he consistently handles them appropriately, accompanying Robert Muldoon on a mission to subdue the tyrannosaurus and successfully restoring power, despite being ambushed by a velociraptor. Grant claims that his negative attitude comes from trying to avoid responsibility for his role in creating the park. Near the end of the novel, Gennaro realizes that he is partially responsible for everything occurring when Grant says, "You sold investors on an undertaking you didn't fully understand...You did not check on the activities of a man whom you knew from experience to be a liar, and you permitted that man to screw around with the most dangerous technology in human history." Though he survives the events on the island, he dies of dysentery
sometime after.
For his film, Spielberg condensed the characters Ed Regis and Donald Gennaro into the same character. The result is a character who is cowardly, greedy, mean-spirited, and often worried. When the other scientists criticize Hammond's park for various reasons, Gennaro is the only one left who supports the concept. Despite this, he is described as a "blood-sucking lawyer" by Hammond himself. When the electric fence around the tyrannosaurus paddock fails, Gennaro is overcome by fear and abandons Tim and Lex. Hiding in a restroom stall, he is subsequently eaten by the tyrannosaurus moments after it breaks out of its pen. In a deleted scene from The Lost World: Jurassic Park, it is stated that Donald Gennaro's family received $36.5 million from InGen in a settlement regarding his death.
Dr. Gerald (Gerry) Harding is Jurassic Park's chief veterinarian
. Formerly a bird expert for a major zoo, he accepted the job because he wanted to become famous for being the first person to write up zoo guidelines for the care of dinosaurs. When the group first encounters him, he is looking after a sick triceratops. With the help of Ellie Sattler, he finds the source of their sickness and is able to treat it. Being the only doctor on the island, he is the one who treats Malcolm after he is attacked by the tyrannosaurus. He is attacked by a velociraptor during the assault on the visitor's center, but ultimately survives his time on the island. Though it is not addressed directly in either of the books, Michael Crichton later revealed that Sarah Harding is Gerry's daughter.
He makes a brief appearance in the first film with a sick triceratops before leaving on the boat for the mainland. He also appears as one of the main characters in Jurassic Park: The Game
, a film-inspired video game.
Robert Muldoon is Jurassic Park's game warden
. Described as a burly man about fifty years of age with deep blue eyes and a steel gray mustache, Muldoon is a former wildlife hunter who had worked with Hammond on one of his previous parks in Kenya
. He has experience working with dangerous animals and has a unique view of the dinosaurs. While most people are mystified by the creatures, Muldoon holds a realistic, unromantic view of the animals from his experience working with other dangerous predators. Muldoon is one of the few people who is truly aware of the potential danger that would be present if the dinosaurs ever escaped, saying "raptors are smart. Very smart. Believe me, all the problems we have so far are nothing compared with what we'd have if the raptors ever got out of their holding pen." He firmly believes that these animals should be destroyed, and constantly urges Hammond to get more, better weapons in case of an emergency. Hammond ignores these warnings and in one scene calls Muldoon a drunk. He spends most of the novel riding around the park, usually with Gennaro, attempting to restore order. He is later attacked by a pack of velociraptors, but survives by wedging himself into a pipe. He manages to kill a few of them, and eventually escapes the island with the other survivors.
In the film, his character is much more serious. In the introduction, when a worker is attacked by a velociraptor that the park staff are transporting, he gives the order to kill it. He notes that the raptors have tested the perimeter fence in different places, probing for an opening. He remains in the control room with Hammond and Arnold, commenting on the many safety and security failures of the park. After the power failure, he drives Sattler to the Tyrannosaurus escape site where they rescue Dr. Malcolm. During an attempt to restore power, Muldoon uses his fedora to set a trap for a velociraptor which instead outsmarts and ambushes him. Because his death was never shown on screen, rumors that the character would return in future films, albeit scarred, persisted until Bob Peck's death in 1999. The non-canon Jurassic Park comic sequels, published by Topps Comics
, depicts Muldoon as surviving the velociraptor attack, claiming that Muldoon had become so acquainted with the raptors that they were prone to play around. According to the comic, the attack seen on film was not an attack, but simply the velociraptors playing with him.
Dennis Nedry is one of the novel's human antagonists. He is described as an obese, messy computer scientist. Nedry works for Hammond as the system's programmer and is in charge of networking
Jurassic Park's computers. Though he was not given any details about InGen's operation, Nedry was expected to fix numerous bugs and issues without knowing the ultimate goal. He feels left out of the loop and doesn't feel like he is respected or paid enough for the very essential job he does. This leads him to make a deal with Dodgson of Biosyn to steal several dinosaur embryo
s for $1.5 million. In order to do this, he shuts down the park's security systems, including several electric fences surrounding select dinosaur paddocks. He intended to steal embryos from a secure lab, drive them through the park to a waiting agent at the dock, and return to his post before being noticed. Though it was only meant to be temporary, he crashes his Jeep and is subsequently blinded and killed by a dilophosaurus. Though his pride in his knowledge of complex computer systems made him feel more important than the other workers, Tim is later able to easily navigate the system in order to restore power to the visitor's center. Nedry's role in the film is generally the same as that of the novel.
Dr. Henry Wu is a character in the first novel. Dr. Wu is the chief geneticist
in Jurassic Park and head of the team that created the dinosaurs. He was a child prodigy, gaining early attention from his undergraduate thesis at MIT. Though he is the one that brings the dinosaurs to life, he demonstrates little concern for the animals, to the extent that he can't even remember exactly what species he has created. He proposes genetically altering the dinosaurs, not to improve them, but to make them more manageable, but could not get Hammond's approval. When he is later presented with the fact that the dinosaurs have been breeding, essentially proving that he had failed to engineer them properly, he mistook it as a "tremendous validation of his work". In the novel, he is killed during the assault on the visitor's center when a velociraptor jumps down onto him from the center's roof. Wu has a greatly reduced role in the film, and leaves the island on the last boat to the mainland before the power failure.
Wu is indirectly mentioned in the second novel when Malcolm discovers old InGen documents addressed to Dr. Henry Wu scattered throughout the abandoned manufacturing plant on Isla Sorna.
Ed Regis is a publicist for InGen. Regis is often given odd jobs by Hammond that are beyond his area of expertise, such as escorting a wounded worker to a Costa Rican hospital and acting as a babysitter for Lex and Tim during their visit to the park. Despite being overconfident about the park and almost negligent about the accidents that have been occurring, fear overtakes him quickly as things begin to go wrong. When the tyrannosaurus breaks free of its pen, he abandons the tour vehicle, leaving Lex and Tim behind. After hiding between some boulders, he tries to make his way back up to the cars but is pounced upon and ripped apart by a juvenile tyrannosaurus. His severed leg is later discovered by Gennaro and Muldoon as they investigate the attack.
Ed Regis's character is written out of the film, though certain aspects of his character, such as his nervousness and cowardliness are given to the film's version of Donald Gennaro. Gennaro's death sequence during the T-Rex attack in the film is also reminiscent of Regis's death.
In the Jurassic Park universe, Richard Levine is one of the world's most brilliant and richest paleontologists. Dr. Marty Guitierrez seems to be his only real friend, though he eventually forms a delicate relationship with Ian Malcolm. Levine's egotism and spontaneous personality prove to be a source of constant irritation to the rest of his colleagues, mainly Malcolm. The children, Arby Benton and Kelly Curtis, however, look up to him, causing him to develop a paternal attitude towards them.
Levine originally intended to travel to Isla Sorna as part of Malcolm's team, but, instead, heads out on his own before the Costa Rican government has a chance to destroy the island. When the rest of his team arrives, they find themselves constantly running after him when he decides to continue his research regardless of what else is happening around him. Though he is bitten twice by Compies
, he ultimately escapes the island without major harm.
Jack "Doc" Thorne is a materials engineer
who specializes in building field equipment, vehicles, and weaponry for scientists all over the world. He is an eclectic mix of character traits, relying on both practical expertise and Eastern philosophy
, claiming that one needs to know philosophy and history to succeed in engineering
. His company, Mobile Field Systems, is hired by Richard Levine to outfit his expedition to study the dinosaur population on Isla Sorna. Thorne's contribution to Levine's mission includes a large research trailer, nicknamed "The Challenger", an electric SUV, a motor bike, a pair of Lindstradt air rifle
s, and a modified satellite phone
. When Levine goes missing on the island, Thorne ends up heading to Isla Sorna with Ian Malcolm and Eddie Carr to retrieve him. On the island, Thorne ends up saving his friends multiple times, and ends up surviving his time on the island. Thorne himself is not a character in the film, though parts of his character are integrated into its portrayal of Eddie Carr and Roland Tembo.
Ajay Sidhu, played by Harvey Jason
, is Roland Tembo's hunting partner from India
. He warns Tembo and his men to stay out of the long grass, but they disobey this warning and are eventually killed by velociraptors. His death is not shown on screen, but it is assumed that he died in the long grass with Tembo's men. Ajay's passing changes Roland Tembo's mind about hunting. His best friend's death causes Tembo to quit the expedition and give up his pursuit of the ultimate prey.
, is the group's field equipment expert. He is added to the team sent to the island because the vehicles he designed had not been field-tested. Eddie is frightened by Isla Sorna and wants nothing more than to retrieve Richard Levine and get off the island as soon as possible. He has a slightly antagonistic relationship with Ian Malcolm, who does not like that Carr's world is so heavily influenced by unreliable electronics. He is eventually killed by a pack of raptors while fighting them off with an iron pipe. In the film, he is killed by the two adult T-Rex before they push the trailers off the cliff.
In the second novel, he is described as a compact, strong 25 year old who prefers the city. In the film, he has black hair, is balding, and is at least ten years older than the description in the novel, taking on the characteristics of both himself and Doc Thorne.
Kelly, played by Vanessa Lee Chester
, is Malcolm's daughter and a close friend of Arby's. Kelly is fascinated by science and idolizes Dr. Sarah Harding. When she learned that Sarah would be on the trip, she decided to sneak aboard. In both the film and novel, Kelly manages to overpower a velociraptor by hitting one onto a broken pipe and shooting one with a Lindstradt air rifle, respectively. The film adaptation merged her character with Arby's.
R.B. "Arby" Benton is a young African American
who is friends with Kelly. He tends to be quiet and shy, but is very intelligent and good with computers. When Kelly expressed interest in stowing away in the Challenger with him, it was he who came up with a plan on how to do so.
Among rumors for the production on the fourth installment in the film franchise is the inclusion of a teenage version of Arby in a role similar to that of the novel.
, is an animal behaviorist who specializes in African predators. She is intelligent and rugged, and employs common sense and practicality in dangerous situations, putting the safety of her colleagues first. Her calm, skilled personality permits her to quickly take command of the group and devise ways for them to survive and escape the island. She and Ian Malcolm were in a relationship for a period, where, at one point, she claimed she was in love with him. The relationship didn't work out, though they still remained close friends. She is idolized by Kelly who sees her as tough and smart. Though it doesn't say in either the films or the novels, Michael Crichton
confirmed that she was Dr. Gerry Harding's daughter.
In the movie, Dr. Harding's character is merged with that of Richard Levine's. She is still intelligent, but impulsive and too eager to interact with the animals, often placing herself and others in danger. Her character in the film is a behavioral paleontologist, rather than an animal behaviorist, who specializes in dinosaur parenting behavior.
Howard King is an assistant to Lewis Dodgson. Once a successful biologist employed by Biosyn, he lost credibility when his research on blood-coagulation
factors failed. Dodgson hired King as his assistant in the reverse engineering
department. He is divorced and has one child, who he sees only on weekends. In the novel, he accompanies Dodgson to the island, but they separate when they fail to retrieve eggs from a Tyrannosaurus nest. King eventually begins to disagree with Dodgson's dark desires, relieved when he sees his beaten body. Eventually, he is killed by velociraptors while trying to escape from a field. His death is worked into the third movie via Udesky.
George Baselton is Stanford University
's Regis Professor of Biology
and assistant to Lewis Dodgson. It is his job to keep Dodgson and Biosyn in the clear, no matter what happens. When he and Dodgson are trying to steal Tyrannosaur eggs, the sonic device Dodgson is using to keep the parent Tyrannosaurs at bay becomes unplugged. Both men stand absolutely still, falsely believing the dinosaurs' vision is based on movement. The Tyrannosaurs subsequently kill him.
Diego is Levine's guide on Isla Sorna. He is a young, enthusiastic Costa Rican who went to the island several times as a boy and knows the land better than anyone else. He does not believe there are dinosaurs there and, even when Levine warns him to be quiet, he simply says that they have nothing to fear. He seems to annoy Levine many times, not only through his insistence that only birds live on the island, but also through disobeying his orders to refrain from using items like cigarettes while on Isla Sorna. Diego is killed when he is ambushed by a Carnotaurus
while he and Levine watch a Mussaurus
in total awe. Carter seems to have inherited his attitude in the second film. Enrique, from the third movie, also resembles Diego.
Nick Van Owen, played by Vince Vaughn
, is a video documentarian and member of Malcolm's expedition to Isla Sorna. He is an experienced documentary filmmaker, having covered wars in Rwanda and Bosnia. He has also worked with Greenpeace, the experience of which later spurs him to act in defense of the dinosaurs. He is the only member of the team to be warned about InGen's expedition, and sneaks into their camp to release captured animals and disrupt their harvesting operation. He also rescues the infant T-Rex from Tembo, leading to a confrontation with its parents that strands both teams on the island. As the teams merge and work towards an escape plan, Nick easily gains the tacit respect of the rugged InGen men, as in one scene he is shown to effortlessly motivate the men while Peter Ludlow fails. His activist nature conflicts with the Great White Hunter style of Tembo, and he later covertly switches the latter's ammunition to ensure the T-Rex adults won't be killed. When the group reaches the InGen compound, it is Nick who fights past the raptors and uses the radio to call for rescue. He is last seen on the first evacuation helicopter, reflecting on the experience. He is not present for the subsequent Incident in San Diego.
Peter Ludlow, played by Arliss Howard
, is the newly elected CEO of InGen. He is John Hammond's nephew, and the main antagonist of the second film. He attained the position during an impromptu meeting with InGen's board of directors after an accident involving a pack of compies
prompts them to unanimously oust Hammond with Ludlow as his replacement. His character, based on Lewis Dodgson, is described as ruthless, selfish, greedy, and condescending toward those who worked for him or those he disliked. As a result, he was not very well respected by the members of his team who chose to follow Roland Tembo or Nick Van Owen instead of him.
In an attempt to revitalize Hammond's original attraction, Ludlow assembled an InGen team to recover Isla Sorna's dinosaurs for display in San Diego. In the end, Ludlow only managed to bring back the male Tyrannosaurus Rex and its infant, with disastrous results, as the adult T-Rex began to wreak havoc on San Diego. While trying to recover the infant in the hold of an InGen cargo ship, he was confronted and killed by the adult, whom he'd thought dead after ordering it shot.
Roland Tembo, played by Pete Postlethwaite
, is a famous animal hunter hired by InGen for the expedition. Though he was hired by InGen, his primary motivation for going to Isla Sorna with his hunting partner, Ajay Sidhu was the possibility of hunting the ultimate trophy, a male Tyrannosaurus. Although he gets his prize in the end, he loses the rest of his team, including Ajay, whom Tembo greatly cared about. As a result, Tembo's view of hunting changes. When Ludlow offers him a job at the new Jurassic Park in San Diego, he declines, saying "I've spent enough time in the company of death."
Dieter Stark, played by Peter Stormare
, was appointed by InGen to be Tembo's second-in-command. Despite being his appointed second-in-command, Tembo does not respect him as much as he does Ajay Sidhu. After getting separated from the others, he is attacked and killed by a group of compies
.
His death mirrors that of John Hammond from the original novel. Although his name is not verbally mentioned in the film itself, it is listed in the credits.
Dr. Robert Burke, played by Thomas F. Duffy
, is InGen's resident paleontologist. Although he was considered by InGen to be one of their top scientists, he provides several pieces of incorrect information, some of which results in the death of Dieter Stark. Burke is killed by a Tyrannosaur while hiding under a waterfall when he is startled by a snake
slithering down into his shirt.
During a conversation with Ian Malcolm, Sarah Harding states, "Robert Burke said that the T-Rex was a rogue that would abandon its young at the earliest opportunity. I know I can prove otherwise." Burke's theory was disproved later in the film when adult Tyrannosaurs attacked the trailer their infant was being held in.
Ed James was hired by Dodgson shortly after the events in the first novel to get information from the survivors of the Isla Nublar incident. After following Richard Levine around for a while, he learns the location of Isla Sorna, which he then reports to Dodgson. He does not accompany either team to Isla Sorna.
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
's novels Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World. Details are also given on the characters' roles in Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's film adaptations, Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
and The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson...
, as well as Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction film and the third of the Jurassic Park franchise. It is the only film in the series that is neither directed by Steven Spielberg nor based on a book by Michael Crichton, though numerous scenes in the movie were taken from Crichton's two books,...
. Jurassic Park III, directed by Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger.- Life and...
, is not an adaptation, but contains characters and events based on Crichton's novels.
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park is a 1990 science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton, adopted into a feature film released in 1993. As the novel opens, billionaire entrepreneur John Hammond creates a high-tech amusement park on Isla Nublar (a fictional Costa Rican island) filled with dinosaurs cloned using DNA found in prehistoric insects. In order to open the park, he must first gain the approval of several experts in different fields and invites paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler, mathematician Ian Malcolm, and his investor's attorney, Donald Gennaro, to tour the park. Upon arrival, the experts begin discovering errors in the system, such as dinosaurs in the wrong pens and evidence of dinosaurs breeding in the wild. These errors occur in spite of Jurassic Park being run by expert computer engineers and top-notch technical systems. Soon after, due to a hurricane and industrial sabotage by a disgruntled technician, the park undergoes several technical failures and the dinosaurs escape their pens. A Tyrannosaur attacks the group, separating them, and the staff make a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation. As Ian Malcolm had predicted from the start, it becomes quite clear that they had never been in control. Often considered a cautionary tale on biological tinkering in the same spirit as Mary Shelley's FrankensteinFrankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
, the book uses the mathematical concept of chaos theory and its philosophical implications to explain the inevitable collapse of the park.
The two film sequels take place on Isla Sorna, a nearby island known as "Site B," where the dinosaurs were engineered and nurtured for a few months, before being moved to Isla Nublar, the location of the amusement park.
Dr. Alan Grant
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film), Jurassic Park III
- Portrayed by Sam NeillSam NeillNigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
Dr. Alan Grant is one of the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s in the first novel, as well as the first and third films. In the novel, Grant is described as a barrel-chested, bearded man with a strong affinity for children, especially ones interested in dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. Grant, based on paleontologist Jack Horner
Jack Horner (paleontologist)
John "Jack" R. Horner is an American paleontologist who discovered and named Maiasaura, providing the first clear evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their young. He is one of the best-known paleontologists in the United States...
, is said to be one of the world's most renowned paleontologists, specializing in hadrosaur
Hadrosaurid
Hadrosaurids or duck-billed dinosaurs are members of the family Hadrosauridae, and include ornithopods such as Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus. They were common herbivores in the Upper Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia, Europe and North America. They are descendants of the Upper...
and other duck-billed dinosaurs such as maiasaura
Maiasaura
Maiasaura is a large duck-billed dinosaur genus that lived in the area currently covered by the state of Montana in the Upper Cretaceous Period , about 74 million years ago....
. His scientific achievements, including the first description of maiasaurs, are that of Robert R. Makela and Jack Horner. His movie persona, played by Sam Neill, has elements similar to adventure hero Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
, such as the fact that he is commonly shown wearing a fedora-style hat.
Dr. Grant is first approached by John Hammond, the eccentric billionaire and creator of Jurassic Park, to take a tour of the park and endorse it so his investors would be more confident. Finding it hard to turn down a request from a major financial donor, Grant agrees, unaware that Hammond has managed to clone real dinosaurs. When the creatures escape, Grant becomes stranded in the park with Hammond's grandchildren. Throughout a great portion of the book, Dr. Grant and the two kids explore the park trying to find their way back to the rest of the group. In the film, much of this time is omitted, with only a few key events occurring on screen.
In the second novel, he makes only one appearance, proposing a theory that the Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
could not function in rainy climates and writing off fellow paleontologist Richard Levine's questions about rumors surrounding InGen
InGen
InGen is a fictional genetic engineering company appearing in the Jurassic Park franchise of novels, films and other media.-Narrative:...
cloning dinosaurs as "absurd".
The film portrays a much different personality than that of the novel. In the films, Dr. Grant has an introverted personality and does not like children. Throughout the course of the first film, however, he warms to the two children accompanying him, Tim and Lex. This was done because Spielberg wanted to "provid(e) a source of dramatic tension that did not exist in the novel". In the film, Dr. Grant specializes in velociraptor
Velociraptor
Velociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis; fossils...
s, and believes that birds are closely related to dinosaurs. At the end of the film, his experience on the island changes his view of children (and dinosaurs) and he decides not to endorse Jurassic Park.
He is the central character of Jurassic Park III." In the years since Jurassic Park, Grant has continued his research on raptors and has proposed theories regarding Velociraptor intelligence. Grant reluctantly agrees to join a wealthy couple for an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, Jurassic Park's 'Site B,' in exchange for funding for his dig site. Due to a plane crash, however, Dr. Grant and the others become stranded on the island. While navigating the island, he realizes, much to his dismay, that his theories about velociraptors were correct. He discovers that the raptors have advanced intelligence and communication abilities. He manages to escape the island via a rescue operation headed by Ellie Sattler.
In the Jurassic Park universe, Grant is credited with having written at least two popular books on dinosaurs. In both Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III, his works are referenced by Tim and Eric Kirby, respectively.
Dr. Ian Malcolm
- Appears in:
Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Lynn "Jeff" Goldblum is an American actor. His career began in the mid-1970s and he has appeared in major box-office successes including The Fly, Jurassic Park and its sequel Jurassic Park: The Lost World, and Independence Day...
Dr. Ian Malcolm is another key figure in the Jurassic Park universe. The character of Ian Malcolm functions as the "ironic commentator inside the story who talks about the action as it takes place". He is a mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
at the Santa Fe Institute
Santa Fe Institute
The Santa Fe Institute is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, including physical, computational, biological, and social systems.The Institute houses a...
who specializes in chaos theory
Chaos theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
. His character is based on both Ivar Ekeland
Ivar Ekeland
Ivar Ekeland is a French mathematician of Norwegian descent. Ekeland has written influential monographs and textbooks on nonlinear functional analysis, the calculus of variations, and mathematical economics, as well as popular books on mathematics, which have been published in French, English, and...
and James Gleick
James Gleick
James Gleick is an American author, journalist, and biographer, whose books explore the cultural ramifications of science and technology...
. Malcolm's all-black clothing style reflects that of Heinz-Otto Peitgen
Heinz-Otto Peitgen
thumb|180px|right|Heinz-Otto PeitgenHeinz-Otto Peitgen is a German mathematician. Peitgen is one of the most prominent researchers in the study of fractals.- Life :...
, a mathematician who wrote a richly illustrated book on fractals.
Throughout the first novel, he makes several predictions based on chaos theory about the consequences and ultimate failure of attempting to control nature. These predictions often prove to be correct. During his time on the island, Malcolm is seriously injured during the initial Tyrannosaur attack. He survives and is brought back to the visitor's center, and spends the remainder of the novel bedridden, usually under the influence of high doses of morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
, continuing to comment on the Park's inherent flaws and impending collapse. Though he is declared dead at the end of the novel, in the sequel, he explains that the declaration was premature. Due to timely intervention by Costa Rican surgeons, he survives the ordeal, but ends up with a permanent leg injury, requiring a cane to walk.
Malcolm is the primary protagonist of the second novel. This time, he is asked to join an expedition to Isla Sorna, Jurassic Park's secondary site, by wealthy adventurer Richard Levine. Malcolm initially declines, but decides to go when word comes back that Levine has gone alone and is trapped on the island. Malcolm takes charge of Levine's remaining expedition and mounts a rescue. The Ian Malcolm of this novel is more proactive and vigorous, and seems to know much more about dinosaurs. As in the first novel, however, Malcolm is again injured in a dinosaur attack but survives. In the film adaptation of the second novel, John Hammond hires Malcolm and others to visit the island in order to document the dinosaurs in their natural habitat. Malcolm agrees, but only to rescue his girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Harding, who had already set out for the island. Once there, the team must contend with a storm, menacing dinosaurs and a rival expedition intent on harvesting dinosaurs for a Jurassic Park-like attraction on the mainland.
Dr. Ellie Sattler
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film), Jurassic Park III (film), The Lost World (novel)
- Portrayed by Laura DernLaura DernLaura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
Ellie Sattler is, in the novel, a graduate student studying under Dr. Alan Grant who specializes in paleobotany
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
. She accompanies Dr. Grant on the tour of InGen's dinosaur preserve. Though she is initially thrilled to tour the park, she is disappointed at how little attention the staff has paid to reproducing prehistoric plant life, such as by placing poisonous plants in public areas and near the swimming pools. While the rest of the group tours the Park by Land Cruiser, she stays with Dr. Harding, the park vet, to help discover the cause of sick Stegosaurus. After the T-Rex attack, she helps Dr. Harding take care of Ian Malcolm’s injuries. During the raptor assault on the visitor's center, Sattler uses herself as bait in an attempt to distract a pack of velociraptors trying to get into the lodge. Though she survives the events of the novel, she does not play a role in the sequel novel. She is mentioned in passing as having married a Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
physicist, and doing guest lectures there on prehistoric pollens.
Ellie has a more dominant role in the first film than in the novel. Steven Spielberg wrote out Ed Regis completely and caused Gennaro to be killed off near the beginning of the film, making Ellie do many of the things done by Donald Gennaro in the novel. In the film, it is Ellie who ventures out of the bunker with Muldoon to bring the park's power systems back online. Additionally, in the film, Ellie is both a doctor of paleobotany and in a relationship with Dr. Grant. Spielberg did this not only to add tension to the film, but also because he felt that she didn't get enough attention in the book.
She appears briefly in Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction film and the third of the Jurassic Park franchise. It is the only film in the series that is neither directed by Steven Spielberg nor based on a book by Michael Crichton, though numerous scenes in the movie were taken from Crichton's two books,...
. According to the film, her relationship with Dr. Grant ended after the first film, but they remain close friends. She is married to Mark Degler, an attorney for the U.S. State Department who specializes in treaty law. They live in Washington, D.C. with their children and host Alan for dinner. Later, when he is stranded on the island, it is Ellie who Grant calls for help. She tells her husband, who sends in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines to rescue them.
John Hammond
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film), The Lost World (film)
- Portrayed by Richard AttenboroughRichard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
John Hammond is one of the primary antagonists of the novel. He is the owner of Jurassic Park and founder of InGen. According to the novel, his full name is John Alfred Hammond, but in a video game based on the film, he is referred to as John Parker Hammond. Though he is not modeled after anyone in particular, in an interview, Crichton explained that Hammond was like the "dark side of Walt Disney". He is portrayed as a cold, eccentric CEO interested only in making a profit and succeeding in creating dinosaurs. When rehearsing to Dr. Wu why he chose to spend his money on an amusement park rather than helping mankind, Hammond replied, "That's a terrible idea. A very poor use of new technology...helping mankind (is) a very risky business. Personally, I would never help mankind."
In the novel, Hammond takes little responsibility for the park or its failures and instead blames others for anything that goes wrong. He concludes that the people he selected as the park's senior staff have character flaws that prevent his vision for the park from being realized. During the events of the novel, he remains in the relative safety of the visitor's center, continuing to believe that he is in control, even as the situation around him grows exceedingly dire. When his grandchildren get lost in the park, he maintains his belief that order will soon be restored and that the children are in no real danger. Near the end of the novel, when the staff regains control of the park, he goes outside for a walk. He rationalizes the disaster in the cold manner of a corporate systems analyst, deciding that everything that has happened was merely a fluke and that next time he will do better, believing that he can use this catastrophe to solve any later problems. While he is out, however, he is startled by the sound of a T-Rex roar, falls down a hill and breaks his ankle. He is unable to climb up the hill and is subsequently killed by a pack of procompsognathus
Procompsognathus
Procompsognathus is a genus of small theropod dinosaur that lived during the late Triassic period , about 210 million years ago. Procompsognathus was named by Eberhard Fraas in 1913. He named the type species, P...
.
In a stark contrast to the cool, uncaring persona depicted in the novel, Hammond's portrayal is considerably different in the films. His film persona is as a sympathetic grandfather who means well and appears less interested in profit than his novel counterpart. The film's Hammond has a deeper, more emotional understanding of creating attractions for children and families, and desires to make this attraction a scientific reality (as opposed to an illusion). However, he is misguided in his steadfast belief that his creations are under control, as he underestimates the power of genetics. He also has little regard for scientific research doctrine, being more interested in the applications of genetic engineering than in the moral implications of such creations. When the security system breaks down, he and his staff work to restore power and rescue the experts and his grandchildren, while themselves remaining in a secure control room. By the film's conclusion, as he and the other survivors leave the island, he acknowledges the dangers that he has created. Hammond leaves the island willingly, but reluctantly, and is last seen pondering both the potential and the danger of what his creations represented. In the second film, he is older and appears to be in failing health. His position as CEO has been taken away by his nephew, so he devotes what resources he has left keeping the dinosaurs of Site B isolated from the rest of the world. His nephew, however, arranges a large expedition to capture as many dinosaurs as possible and rebuild Jurassic Park on the mainland. In an attempt to stop him, Hammond sends a small party, including a reluctant Ian Malcolm, to intercept them. Ultimately, the expedition is halted and Hammond is able to publicly advocate his idea to leave the dinosaurs in peace on the island.
Dr. Martin "Marty" Guitierrez
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel), The Lost World (novel)
Dr. Marty Guitierrez is an American biologist who lives in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. He plays an expository role in both novels. In the first novel, he identifies an unknown lizard that attacks a little girl as a Basiliscus amoratus
Basiliscus (genus)
Basiliscus is a genus of large corytophanid lizards, commonly known as basilisks, which are endemic to southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.-Taxonomy and etymology:...
. He is initially unhappy with this identification because the lizard was more poisonous than expected and had three toes. He searches the beach where the she was attacked and finds the corpse of a similar lizard in the mouth of a howler monkey
Howler monkey
Howler monkeys are among the largest of the New World monkeys. Fifteen species are currently recognised. Previously classified in the family Cebidae, they are now placed in the family Atelidae. These monkeys are native to South and Central American forests...
, which he promptly sends to the laboratory for tropical diseases at Columbia University in New York for further study.
In the second novel, he finds and shows Richard Levine a dried up corpse of an unknown creature, oddly similar to the ones found prior to the Jurassic Park incident. He informs Levine that no one knows where these creatures are coming from.
Alexis Murphy
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film), The Lost World (film)
- Portrayed by Ariana RichardsAriana RichardsAriana Clarice Richards is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park, and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer....
Alexis Murphy ("Lex") is Tim Murphy's sister and John Hammond's granddaughter. A relatively outgoing girl about seven or eight with blonde hair, she is described as "a sporty young girl who loves baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
", and wears a baseball glove slung over her shoulder and a baseball cap just about everywhere. Her selfish and childish behavior often annoys the people around her and puts her and the group in danger. Throughout the novel, she shows characteristics of her grandfather, John Hammond, such as being unkind, careless and unappreciative of the events occurring around her.
In Speilberg's 1993 film, Lex is the elder of the two siblings and has a completely different personality, similar to that of her brother's from the novel. In the film, Lex has advanced computer skills that help the survivors escape a pack of velociraptors. While initially frightened by many of the dinosaurs, Lex eventually gains maturity and courage, and is instrumental in rebooting the Park's systems. Much like Dr. Ellie Sattler, Lex's personality is improved to add strong female roles to the film. She makes a cameo in the second film when Ian Malcolm comes to visit John Hammond.
Tim Murphy
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film), The Lost World (film)
- Portrayed by Joseph MazzelloJoseph MazzelloJoseph Francis Mazzello III is an American actor who is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park, Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, and Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network....
Timothy Murphy (Tim) is Lex Murphy's brother and John Hammond's grandson. He is described as a bespectacled boy of about eleven who has an interest in dinosaurs and computers. His quick thinking and encyclopedic knowledge of dinosaurs aid the group several times, and Tim is instrumental in discovering that dinosaurs have escaped the island, as well as regaining the means to warn the mainland in time. Later, Tim's ingenuity and technical knowledge allow him to navigate the Park's computer systems and reactivate the physical security systems before the Velociraptors gain access to the visitor's lodge. His expertise regarding dinosaurs rivals Dr. Grant's, and is clearly superior to that of Dr. Henry Wu, the scientist who created the dinosaurs. Already familiar with his work before they meet, Tim almost immediately strikes up a friendship with Dr. Grant. According to Grant, "it's hard not to like someone so interested in dinosaurs". Tim's father doesn't share his interest in paleontology, so the dinosaur-loving Grant forms an instant bond with Tim during their time in the park.
In Spielberg's film, Tim and Lex's personalities were swapped so that Lex was the older sibling. This was done so that Spielberg could work specifically with actor Joseph Mazzello, who was younger than Ariana Richards.
Dr. Lewis Dodgson
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film), The Lost World (novel)
- Portrayed by Cameron ThorCameron ThorGregory Cameron Thor is an actor best known for playing Lewis Dodgson, a character from the film Jurassic Park. While his character was a major part of the sequel novel, The Lost World, the character was left out of the movie. He also appeared in the 1991 films Hook and Curly Sue. He is currently...
Dr. Lewis Dodgson is antagonist of the Jurassic Park series and one of the few characters that appears in both novels. His name is derived from Charles Dodgson, who wrote under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Lewis Carroll".
In the Jurassic Park universe, Dodgson is an ambitious scientist who is unafraid to make aggressive moves generally considered unethical to get what he wants, saying that he "won't be held back by regulations made for lesser souls". Dodgson works for Biosyn, a company that rivals Hammond's and has a far spottier scientific reputation. Dodgson is described in the novels as more of a salesman than a scientist, and someone who specializes in both reverse-engineering and the adulteration/theft of the work of others. He hopes to get his hands on Hammond's technology in order to create dinosaurs of his own. He and his company seek to clone dinosaurs not as an attraction, but as potential test subjects for laboratory applications. He is portrayed as cold, ruthless and impatient. During the first novel, Dodgson hires Dennis Nedry to steal dinosaur embryos for his company, but the plot fails. In the sequel novel, Dodgson is much more ambitious and takes a team to Isla Sorna in an attempt to collect fertilized dinosaur eggs. Dodgson and his team, unconcerned with the dangers of these animals, are quickly killed.
Dodgson makes a short appearance in the first film and is completely written out of the second film. For the second film, his character's profit-driven actions and naivete regarding the dinosaurs are transferred to Peter Ludlow, Hammond's nephew and CEO of InGen.
John Arnold
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and movie)
- Portrayed by Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
John Raymond Arnold ("Ray") is Jurassic Park's chief engineer, running the main control center from the visitor center. He is described as a thin, chain-smoking man and a chronic worrier. A gifted systems engineer, Arnold had designed weapons for the U.S. military and later worked at several different theme parks and zoos before joining the Jurassic Park team. He was a grudgingly optimistic man, who maintained total faith in the computer systems and continued to believe that despite the setbacks, things would work out in the end. When Dennis Nedry locks them out of the system, Arnold, after much persuasion by Donald Gennaro, shuts off all power to the park and resets the computer-control systems. After turning the power back on, he believes the problem has been solved, when it has actually been made worse. By shutting down the main power grid, he turned off several systems that were unaffected by Nedry's lockout, including the Velociraptor paddock. He realizes his mistake many hours later, and volunteers to go outside and restore power to the main generator. Before he is able to, however, he is killed by an escaped velociraptor.
In Spielberg's 1993 film, Arnold is occasionally referred to as "Ray", although his first name is John. This was done to distinguish him from John Hammond. This Arnold has a smaller role than in the novel but retains the same personality and outlook. Arnold's death is not shown on camera, but the appearance of a severed arm confirms his death. In a deleted scene from second movie, Arnold's family is said to have received a $23 million settlement from InGen in a lawsuit regarding his death.
Donald Gennaro
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film)
- Portrayed by Martin FerreroMartin FerreroMartin Ferrero is an American stage and film actor.Ferrero joined the California Actors Theater in Los Gatos, California. In 1979, he moved to Los Angeles and began to act in Hollywood. He is widely remembered for his role as the ill-fated lawyer Donald Gennaro in Jurassic Park...
Donald Gennaro is the attorney sent on behalf of Jurassic Park's investors to investigate the safety of the park after several reports of missing or dead workers. He is described as a short, muscular man and represents an "everyman" personality among the characters. Though he is initially worried only about disappointing his supervisors, he soon drops this when his life is threatened, focusing on survival instead. When problems begin to occur, he consistently handles them appropriately, accompanying Robert Muldoon on a mission to subdue the tyrannosaurus and successfully restoring power, despite being ambushed by a velociraptor. Grant claims that his negative attitude comes from trying to avoid responsibility for his role in creating the park. Near the end of the novel, Gennaro realizes that he is partially responsible for everything occurring when Grant says, "You sold investors on an undertaking you didn't fully understand...You did not check on the activities of a man whom you knew from experience to be a liar, and you permitted that man to screw around with the most dangerous technology in human history." Though he survives the events on the island, he dies of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
sometime after.
For his film, Spielberg condensed the characters Ed Regis and Donald Gennaro into the same character. The result is a character who is cowardly, greedy, mean-spirited, and often worried. When the other scientists criticize Hammond's park for various reasons, Gennaro is the only one left who supports the concept. Despite this, he is described as a "blood-sucking lawyer" by Hammond himself. When the electric fence around the tyrannosaurus paddock fails, Gennaro is overcome by fear and abandons Tim and Lex. Hiding in a restroom stall, he is subsequently eaten by the tyrannosaurus moments after it breaks out of its pen. In a deleted scene from The Lost World: Jurassic Park, it is stated that Donald Gennaro's family received $36.5 million from InGen in a settlement regarding his death.
Dr. Gerry Harding
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film)
- Portrayed by Gerald R. MolenGerald R. MolenGerald Robert Molen is a high profile American film producer. He works very closely with Steven Spielberg, having produced five of his films, and won an Academy Award for co-producing Schindler's List...
Dr. Gerald (Gerry) Harding is Jurassic Park's chief veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
. Formerly a bird expert for a major zoo, he accepted the job because he wanted to become famous for being the first person to write up zoo guidelines for the care of dinosaurs. When the group first encounters him, he is looking after a sick triceratops. With the help of Ellie Sattler, he finds the source of their sickness and is able to treat it. Being the only doctor on the island, he is the one who treats Malcolm after he is attacked by the tyrannosaurus. He is attacked by a velociraptor during the assault on the visitor's center, but ultimately survives his time on the island. Though it is not addressed directly in either of the books, Michael Crichton later revealed that Sarah Harding is Gerry's daughter.
He makes a brief appearance in the first film with a sick triceratops before leaving on the boat for the mainland. He also appears as one of the main characters in Jurassic Park: The Game
Jurassic Park: The Game
Jurassic Park: The Game is an episodic, downloadable third-person adventure video game developed by Telltale Games that is based on the Jurassic Park franchise. The game, which is the latest of several Universal/Telltale deals, was originally announced in June 2010 before being revealed in the...
, a film-inspired video game.
Robert Muldoon
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film)
- Portrayed by Bob PeckBob PeckBob Peck was an English stage, television and film actor.-Early life:He went to Leeds Modern School in Lawnswood...
Robert Muldoon is Jurassic Park's game warden
Game warden
A game warden is an employee who has the role of protecting wildlife. Game wardens may also be referred to as conservation officers or wildlife officers...
. Described as a burly man about fifty years of age with deep blue eyes and a steel gray mustache, Muldoon is a former wildlife hunter who had worked with Hammond on one of his previous parks in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. He has experience working with dangerous animals and has a unique view of the dinosaurs. While most people are mystified by the creatures, Muldoon holds a realistic, unromantic view of the animals from his experience working with other dangerous predators. Muldoon is one of the few people who is truly aware of the potential danger that would be present if the dinosaurs ever escaped, saying "raptors are smart. Very smart. Believe me, all the problems we have so far are nothing compared with what we'd have if the raptors ever got out of their holding pen." He firmly believes that these animals should be destroyed, and constantly urges Hammond to get more, better weapons in case of an emergency. Hammond ignores these warnings and in one scene calls Muldoon a drunk. He spends most of the novel riding around the park, usually with Gennaro, attempting to restore order. He is later attacked by a pack of velociraptors, but survives by wedging himself into a pipe. He manages to kill a few of them, and eventually escapes the island with the other survivors.
In the film, his character is much more serious. In the introduction, when a worker is attacked by a velociraptor that the park staff are transporting, he gives the order to kill it. He notes that the raptors have tested the perimeter fence in different places, probing for an opening. He remains in the control room with Hammond and Arnold, commenting on the many safety and security failures of the park. After the power failure, he drives Sattler to the Tyrannosaurus escape site where they rescue Dr. Malcolm. During an attempt to restore power, Muldoon uses his fedora to set a trap for a velociraptor which instead outsmarts and ambushes him. Because his death was never shown on screen, rumors that the character would return in future films, albeit scarred, persisted until Bob Peck's death in 1999. The non-canon Jurassic Park comic sequels, published by Topps Comics
Topps Comics
Topps Comics is a division of the American trading card publisher and gum/candy distributor the Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993–1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies...
, depicts Muldoon as surviving the velociraptor attack, claiming that Muldoon had become so acquainted with the raptors that they were prone to play around. According to the comic, the attack seen on film was not an attack, but simply the velociraptors playing with him.
Dennis Nedry
- Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel and film)
- Portrayed by Wayne KnightWayne KnightWayne Eliot Knight is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor perhaps best known for his role as Newman in the TV sitcom Seinfeld...
Dennis Nedry is one of the novel's human antagonists. He is described as an obese, messy computer scientist. Nedry works for Hammond as the system's programmer and is in charge of networking
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
Jurassic Park's computers. Though he was not given any details about InGen's operation, Nedry was expected to fix numerous bugs and issues without knowing the ultimate goal. He feels left out of the loop and doesn't feel like he is respected or paid enough for the very essential job he does. This leads him to make a deal with Dodgson of Biosyn to steal several dinosaur embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s for $1.5 million. In order to do this, he shuts down the park's security systems, including several electric fences surrounding select dinosaur paddocks. He intended to steal embryos from a secure lab, drive them through the park to a waiting agent at the dock, and return to his post before being noticed. Though it was only meant to be temporary, he crashes his Jeep and is subsequently blinded and killed by a dilophosaurus. Though his pride in his knowledge of complex computer systems made him feel more important than the other workers, Tim is later able to easily navigate the system in order to restore power to the visitor's center. Nedry's role in the film is generally the same as that of the novel.
Dr. Henry Wu
- Appears in Jurassic Park (novel and film)
- Portrayed by BD Wong
Dr. Henry Wu is a character in the first novel. Dr. Wu is the chief geneticist
Geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a researcher or lecturer. Some geneticists perform experiments and analyze data to interpret the inheritance of skills. A geneticist is also a Consultant or...
in Jurassic Park and head of the team that created the dinosaurs. He was a child prodigy, gaining early attention from his undergraduate thesis at MIT. Though he is the one that brings the dinosaurs to life, he demonstrates little concern for the animals, to the extent that he can't even remember exactly what species he has created. He proposes genetically altering the dinosaurs, not to improve them, but to make them more manageable, but could not get Hammond's approval. When he is later presented with the fact that the dinosaurs have been breeding, essentially proving that he had failed to engineer them properly, he mistook it as a "tremendous validation of his work". In the novel, he is killed during the assault on the visitor's center when a velociraptor jumps down onto him from the center's roof. Wu has a greatly reduced role in the film, and leaves the island on the last boat to the mainland before the power failure.
Wu is indirectly mentioned in the second novel when Malcolm discovers old InGen documents addressed to Dr. Henry Wu scattered throughout the abandoned manufacturing plant on Isla Sorna.
Ed Regis
Appears in: Jurassic Park (novel only)Ed Regis is a publicist for InGen. Regis is often given odd jobs by Hammond that are beyond his area of expertise, such as escorting a wounded worker to a Costa Rican hospital and acting as a babysitter for Lex and Tim during their visit to the park. Despite being overconfident about the park and almost negligent about the accidents that have been occurring, fear overtakes him quickly as things begin to go wrong. When the tyrannosaurus breaks free of its pen, he abandons the tour vehicle, leaving Lex and Tim behind. After hiding between some boulders, he tries to make his way back up to the cars but is pounced upon and ripped apart by a juvenile tyrannosaurus. His severed leg is later discovered by Gennaro and Muldoon as they investigate the attack.
Ed Regis's character is written out of the film, though certain aspects of his character, such as his nervousness and cowardliness are given to the film's version of Donald Gennaro. Gennaro's death sequence during the T-Rex attack in the film is also reminiscent of Regis's death.
The Lost World
These characters first appear in The Lost World.Richard Levine
Appears in novel onlyIn the Jurassic Park universe, Richard Levine is one of the world's most brilliant and richest paleontologists. Dr. Marty Guitierrez seems to be his only real friend, though he eventually forms a delicate relationship with Ian Malcolm. Levine's egotism and spontaneous personality prove to be a source of constant irritation to the rest of his colleagues, mainly Malcolm. The children, Arby Benton and Kelly Curtis, however, look up to him, causing him to develop a paternal attitude towards them.
Levine originally intended to travel to Isla Sorna as part of Malcolm's team, but, instead, heads out on his own before the Costa Rican government has a chance to destroy the island. When the rest of his team arrives, they find themselves constantly running after him when he decides to continue his research regardless of what else is happening around him. Though he is bitten twice by Compies
Procompsognathus
Procompsognathus is a genus of small theropod dinosaur that lived during the late Triassic period , about 210 million years ago. Procompsognathus was named by Eberhard Fraas in 1913. He named the type species, P...
, he ultimately escapes the island without major harm.
Jack "Doc" Thorne
Appears in novel onlyJack "Doc" Thorne is a materials engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
who specializes in building field equipment, vehicles, and weaponry for scientists all over the world. He is an eclectic mix of character traits, relying on both practical expertise and Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy includes the various philosophies of Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Iranian philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Indian philosophy and Korean philosophy...
, claiming that one needs to know philosophy and history to succeed in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
. His company, Mobile Field Systems, is hired by Richard Levine to outfit his expedition to study the dinosaur population on Isla Sorna. Thorne's contribution to Levine's mission includes a large research trailer, nicknamed "The Challenger", an electric SUV, a motor bike, a pair of Lindstradt air rifle
Lindstradt air rifle
The Lindstradt air rifle is a fictional rifle made in Sweden used in Michael Crichton's novel The Lost World, and in the novel's film adaptation The Lost World: Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg. In both the book and the movie, the rifle is used by Eddie Carr, played by Richard Schiff in...
s, and a modified satellite phone
Satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
. When Levine goes missing on the island, Thorne ends up heading to Isla Sorna with Ian Malcolm and Eddie Carr to retrieve him. On the island, Thorne ends up saving his friends multiple times, and ends up surviving his time on the island. Thorne himself is not a character in the film, though parts of his character are integrated into its portrayal of Eddie Carr and Roland Tembo.
Ajay Sidhu
Appears in film onlyAjay Sidhu, played by Harvey Jason
Harvey Jason
Harvey Albert Jason is an English actor and the co-owner of Mystery Pier Books, an independent book store that sells first editions.Jason was born in London, the son of Marie Goldblatt and actor Alec Jason...
, is Roland Tembo's hunting partner from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He warns Tembo and his men to stay out of the long grass, but they disobey this warning and are eventually killed by velociraptors. His death is not shown on screen, but it is assumed that he died in the long grass with Tembo's men. Ajay's passing changes Roland Tembo's mind about hunting. His best friend's death causes Tembo to quit the expedition and give up his pursuit of the ultimate prey.
Eddie Carr
Eddie Carr, played by Richard SchiffRichard Schiff
Richard Schiff is an American actor. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama The West Wing, a role for which he received an Emmy Award...
, is the group's field equipment expert. He is added to the team sent to the island because the vehicles he designed had not been field-tested. Eddie is frightened by Isla Sorna and wants nothing more than to retrieve Richard Levine and get off the island as soon as possible. He has a slightly antagonistic relationship with Ian Malcolm, who does not like that Carr's world is so heavily influenced by unreliable electronics. He is eventually killed by a pack of raptors while fighting them off with an iron pipe. In the film, he is killed by the two adult T-Rex before they push the trailers off the cliff.
In the second novel, he is described as a compact, strong 25 year old who prefers the city. In the film, he has black hair, is balding, and is at least ten years older than the description in the novel, taking on the characteristics of both himself and Doc Thorne.
Kelly Curtis/Malcolm
Appears in novel and edited in filmKelly, played by Vanessa Lee Chester
Vanessa Lee Chester
Vanessa Lee Chester is an American television and film actress. She has worked on a variety of projects, most notable for her roles as Kelly in Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park , and as Becky in Alfonso Cuarón's A Little Princess...
, is Malcolm's daughter and a close friend of Arby's. Kelly is fascinated by science and idolizes Dr. Sarah Harding. When she learned that Sarah would be on the trip, she decided to sneak aboard. In both the film and novel, Kelly manages to overpower a velociraptor by hitting one onto a broken pipe and shooting one with a Lindstradt air rifle, respectively. The film adaptation merged her character with Arby's.
R.B. "Arby" Benton
Appears in novel onlyR.B. "Arby" Benton is a young African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
who is friends with Kelly. He tends to be quiet and shy, but is very intelligent and good with computers. When Kelly expressed interest in stowing away in the Challenger with him, it was he who came up with a plan on how to do so.
Among rumors for the production on the fourth installment in the film franchise is the inclusion of a teenage version of Arby in a role similar to that of the novel.
Dr. Sarah Harding
Dr. Sarah Harding, played by Julianne MooreJulianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
, is an animal behaviorist who specializes in African predators. She is intelligent and rugged, and employs common sense and practicality in dangerous situations, putting the safety of her colleagues first. Her calm, skilled personality permits her to quickly take command of the group and devise ways for them to survive and escape the island. She and Ian Malcolm were in a relationship for a period, where, at one point, she claimed she was in love with him. The relationship didn't work out, though they still remained close friends. She is idolized by Kelly who sees her as tough and smart. Though it doesn't say in either the films or the novels, Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
confirmed that she was Dr. Gerry Harding's daughter.
In the movie, Dr. Harding's character is merged with that of Richard Levine's. She is still intelligent, but impulsive and too eager to interact with the animals, often placing herself and others in danger. Her character in the film is a behavioral paleontologist, rather than an animal behaviorist, who specializes in dinosaur parenting behavior.
Howard King
Appears in the novel, only.Howard King is an assistant to Lewis Dodgson. Once a successful biologist employed by Biosyn, he lost credibility when his research on blood-coagulation
Coagulation
Coagulation is a complex process by which blood forms clots. It is an important part of hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, wherein a damaged blood vessel wall is covered by a platelet and fibrin-containing clot to stop bleeding and begin repair of the damaged vessel...
factors failed. Dodgson hired King as his assistant in the reverse engineering
Reverse engineering
Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...
department. He is divorced and has one child, who he sees only on weekends. In the novel, he accompanies Dodgson to the island, but they separate when they fail to retrieve eggs from a Tyrannosaurus nest. King eventually begins to disagree with Dodgson's dark desires, relieved when he sees his beaten body. Eventually, he is killed by velociraptors while trying to escape from a field. His death is worked into the third movie via Udesky.
George Baselton
Appears in novel onlyGeorge Baselton is Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's Regis Professor of Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and assistant to Lewis Dodgson. It is his job to keep Dodgson and Biosyn in the clear, no matter what happens. When he and Dodgson are trying to steal Tyrannosaur eggs, the sonic device Dodgson is using to keep the parent Tyrannosaurs at bay becomes unplugged. Both men stand absolutely still, falsely believing the dinosaurs' vision is based on movement. The Tyrannosaurs subsequently kill him.
Diego
Appears in novel onlyDiego is Levine's guide on Isla Sorna. He is a young, enthusiastic Costa Rican who went to the island several times as a boy and knows the land better than anyone else. He does not believe there are dinosaurs there and, even when Levine warns him to be quiet, he simply says that they have nothing to fear. He seems to annoy Levine many times, not only through his insistence that only birds live on the island, but also through disobeying his orders to refrain from using items like cigarettes while on Isla Sorna. Diego is killed when he is ambushed by a Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus was a large predatory dinosaur. Only one species, Carnotaurus sastrei has been described so far.Carnotaurus lived in Patagonia, Argentina during the Campanian or Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous...
while he and Levine watch a Mussaurus
Mussaurus
Mussaurus was a genus of herbivorous prosauropod dinosaur that lived in southern Argentina during the Late Triassic Period, about 215 million years ago...
in total awe. Carter seems to have inherited his attitude in the second film. Enrique, from the third movie, also resembles Diego.
Nick Van Owen
Appears in film onlyNick Van Owen, played by Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...
, is a video documentarian and member of Malcolm's expedition to Isla Sorna. He is an experienced documentary filmmaker, having covered wars in Rwanda and Bosnia. He has also worked with Greenpeace, the experience of which later spurs him to act in defense of the dinosaurs. He is the only member of the team to be warned about InGen's expedition, and sneaks into their camp to release captured animals and disrupt their harvesting operation. He also rescues the infant T-Rex from Tembo, leading to a confrontation with its parents that strands both teams on the island. As the teams merge and work towards an escape plan, Nick easily gains the tacit respect of the rugged InGen men, as in one scene he is shown to effortlessly motivate the men while Peter Ludlow fails. His activist nature conflicts with the Great White Hunter style of Tembo, and he later covertly switches the latter's ammunition to ensure the T-Rex adults won't be killed. When the group reaches the InGen compound, it is Nick who fights past the raptors and uses the radio to call for rescue. He is last seen on the first evacuation helicopter, reflecting on the experience. He is not present for the subsequent Incident in San Diego.
Peter Ludlow
Appears in film onlyPeter Ludlow, played by Arliss Howard
Arliss Howard
Arliss Howard is an American actor, writer and film director.-Life and career:Howard was born in Independence, Missouri in 1954, and graduated from Truman High School and Columbia College at Columbia, Missouri. Howard established his career with stand-out roles in Full Metal Jacket and Ruby...
, is the newly elected CEO of InGen. He is John Hammond's nephew, and the main antagonist of the second film. He attained the position during an impromptu meeting with InGen's board of directors after an accident involving a pack of compies
Compsognathus
Compsognathus was a small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. The animal was the size of a turkey and lived around 150 million years ago, the early Tithonian stage of the late Jurassic Period, in what is now Europe. Paleontologists have found two well-preserved fossils, one in Germany...
prompts them to unanimously oust Hammond with Ludlow as his replacement. His character, based on Lewis Dodgson, is described as ruthless, selfish, greedy, and condescending toward those who worked for him or those he disliked. As a result, he was not very well respected by the members of his team who chose to follow Roland Tembo or Nick Van Owen instead of him.
In an attempt to revitalize Hammond's original attraction, Ludlow assembled an InGen team to recover Isla Sorna's dinosaurs for display in San Diego. In the end, Ludlow only managed to bring back the male Tyrannosaurus Rex and its infant, with disastrous results, as the adult T-Rex began to wreak havoc on San Diego. While trying to recover the infant in the hold of an InGen cargo ship, he was confronted and killed by the adult, whom he'd thought dead after ordering it shot.
Roland Tembo
Appears in film onlyRoland Tembo, played by Pete Postlethwaite
Pete Postlethwaite
Peter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...
, is a famous animal hunter hired by InGen for the expedition. Though he was hired by InGen, his primary motivation for going to Isla Sorna with his hunting partner, Ajay Sidhu was the possibility of hunting the ultimate trophy, a male Tyrannosaurus. Although he gets his prize in the end, he loses the rest of his team, including Ajay, whom Tembo greatly cared about. As a result, Tembo's view of hunting changes. When Ludlow offers him a job at the new Jurassic Park in San Diego, he declines, saying "I've spent enough time in the company of death."
Dieter Stark
Appears in film onlyDieter Stark, played by Peter Stormare
Peter Stormare
is a Swedish film, stage, voice and television actor as well as a theatrical director, playwright and musician.- Early life :...
, was appointed by InGen to be Tembo's second-in-command. Despite being his appointed second-in-command, Tembo does not respect him as much as he does Ajay Sidhu. After getting separated from the others, he is attacked and killed by a group of compies
Compsognathus
Compsognathus was a small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. The animal was the size of a turkey and lived around 150 million years ago, the early Tithonian stage of the late Jurassic Period, in what is now Europe. Paleontologists have found two well-preserved fossils, one in Germany...
.
His death mirrors that of John Hammond from the original novel. Although his name is not verbally mentioned in the film itself, it is listed in the credits.
Dr. Robert Burke
Appears in film onlyDr. Robert Burke, played by Thomas F. Duffy
Thomas F. Duffy
Thomas Francis Duffy is a versatile American character actor, writer, musician, and athlete. He is best known for playing hippie Paleontologist Dr. Robert Burke in The Lost World: Jurassic Park and as Sam Moxon, the football loving dad in Varsity Blues.-Early life:Thomas was born in Newark, New...
, is InGen's resident paleontologist. Although he was considered by InGen to be one of their top scientists, he provides several pieces of incorrect information, some of which results in the death of Dieter Stark. Burke is killed by a Tyrannosaur while hiding under a waterfall when he is startled by a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
slithering down into his shirt.
During a conversation with Ian Malcolm, Sarah Harding states, "Robert Burke said that the T-Rex was a rogue that would abandon its young at the earliest opportunity. I know I can prove otherwise." Burke's theory was disproved later in the film when adult Tyrannosaurs attacked the trailer their infant was being held in.
Ed James
Appears in novel onlyEd James was hired by Dodgson shortly after the events in the first novel to get information from the survivors of the Isla Nublar incident. After following Richard Levine around for a while, he learns the location of Isla Sorna, which he then reports to Dodgson. He does not accompany either team to Isla Sorna.
External links
- Summary of Jurassic Park characters at SparkNotesSparkNotesSparkNotes, originally part of a website called The Spark, is a company started by Harvard students Sam Yagan, Max Krohn, Chris Coyne, and Eli Bolotin in 1999 that originally provided study guides for literature, poetry, history, film, and philosophy...