20 Actors You Didn't Know Almost Starred In Jurassic Park Movies
Hold on to your butts.
There's almost more history to the Jurassic Park franchise than there is actual film footage, mostly thanks to a long and winding meander through Development Hell when nobody seemed sure how to translate Steven Spielberg's original, awe-inspiring vision into something that was both entertaining and lucrative for Universal.
Looking back on it now, that's preposterous. It's about dinosaurs in the modern world: it should have been solid gold. But so many missteps were made along the way that the alternative Jurassic Park sequels that weren't made almost rank alongside George Miller's Justice League and the legendary Superman Lives as the Most Important Films That Never Were.
Even the first film could have changed dramatically from what Spielberg made. As it was subject to a bidding war for the rights to adapt, Jurassic Park could well have been made by any of four directors. Had Universal not won the bid and put Spielberg in the director's chair, Warner Bros had Tim Burton lined up, Fox had Joe Dante and Columbia had Richard Donner. All would have been dramatically different.
Here's the What Ifs of Jurassic Park, and specifically those actors who could have brought the characters fans have come to love over the past 22 years...
20. Kurt Russell Was Almost Dr Alan Grant
Having enjoyed a good run at the end of the '80s and into the early '90s with Tango & Cash, Backdraft and Unlawful Entry, Kurt Russell was clearly of the opinion that his time had come and he could command lofty fees for his time.
Sadly for him, Hollywood didn't universally agree and when he came in to talk about the possibility of taking on the role of Dr Alan Grant he quickly pulled out because Universal were unwilling - or unable - to meet his salary demands. Instead he went and made Captain Ron. Which pretty much proves there isn't always a cohesive link between money paid and value earned.
It's something of a shame though: Russell showed in Stargate that he could play the cynical outsider/tourist figure, but it's obvious that he would have made Grant a lot more traditionally action hero-like than Sam Neill.