Sam Neill has recently opened up about why he was “slightly irked” by the Jurassic Park’s marketing campaign in his new memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?
“I was racked by the usual insecurities,” wrote the actor in his book, reported via Independent.
Explaining his insecurity of being chosen as an action hero in the movie, Neill continued, “I’m certainly not an action hero. The idea of me going hand to hand with Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger is simply absurd.”
“I’m more of the ordinary guy on screen. If indeed I was supposed to be that sort of action guy, I was already, I think, 45 years old, and as always had left things about 10 or 15 years too late.”
However, Neill complained about the “imposter syndrome” that was expanded in the movie, which emphasised more on CGI dinosaurs as opposed to the actors.
“The impostor syndrome would be enhanced later on when we were out and about promoting the movie,” stated Neil in his book.
“The more or less official line from Universal Pictures was that, with Jurassic Park, they had set out to prove that they, with Spielberg, could make huge blockbusters without ‘movie stars’.”
Nevertheless, Neill remarked, “This was true enough, but I think it slightly irked us, the actors, to be reminded from time to time we were not real ‘stars’.”
Neill further clarified that he said he was “only slightly irked” by the marketing campaign.
In the book, he added, “I emphasise the word ‘slightly’, because more than anything we were all delighted to be working with Steven.”
“And to be working on something that would be absolutely groundbreaking, as it turned out,” concluded Neill.