10 Things You Didn't Know About Jurassic Park
3. Jurassic Park Was The Third Film That Spielberg Had Attempted To Get Richard Attenborough To Star In
It's common knowledge that the sadly departed Richard Attenborough came out of self-imposed retirement to play the role of John Hammond in Jurassic Park. What you may not have known however, is that Spielberg had approached Attenborough twice before, trying to secure the actor's signature for two other films. Those attempts obviously fell flat though, as Jurassic Park was Attenborough's first on-screen role for 14 years.
Attenborough went on to star in only a handful of films following the release of Jurassic Park, opting instead to focus entirely on his directing career. Funnily enough, when Attenborough directed Gandhi in 1982, the film won academy awards for best director and best picture, beating out Spielberg's own E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Clearly, Spielberg had an enormous amount of respect for the acclaimed actor and director; we're just glad he decided to say yes to Jurassic Park.