‘Jurassic Park’ Cast and Character Guide (Where Are They Now?) (2025)

Inspiring kids to become paleontologists for the last three decades, Jurassic Park originally premiered in 1993. A mix of action, adventure, and sci-fi, this film presents a very entertaining combination. The premise, now familiar to all, is that dinosaurs have been re-created from DNA found in a fossilized mosquito that sucked blood from a dinosaur. Scientists used this DNA mixed with frog DNA to create dinosaurs including "veggisauruses" and "meatasauruses". Problems first arise when a velociraptor kills someone in the opening scene. And right from this establishing scene, audiences knew they were in for a wild ride.

Jurassic Park is directed by one of the most famous directors of all time, Steven Spielberg, with a larger-than-life score by one of the most famous composers, John Williams. When it was released, it was the biggest moneymaker Hollywood had ever seen. It's no wonder there have been five sequels (and counting) to the film including The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Jurassic World Dominion. With an almost five-hundred-day run in theaters and a total profit of $912 million worldwide, Jurassic Park is one of the most successful and popular movies ever made. It kicked off the careers of most of the actors on this list, some going on to become huge names in the business and others choosing to focus on other endeavors. After careful consideration, we've decided to endorse Jurassic Park as the best dinosaur movie ever. So let's take a look at the actors who made this story the ginormous success it was and where they are today.

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Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant

Starring as the lead of Jurassic Park is Sam Neill, who plays the character of Dr. Alan Grant. Grant is a paleontologist who is recruited by the creator of Jurassic Park to give his approval of the park. This part launched Neill's career as a major player in Hollywood. He reprised his role as Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, two sequels to the film.

After the original Jurassic Park, Neill went on to act in extremely popular movies and TV shows throughout the past thirty years. Some of these include the shows Peaky Blinders and The Tudors and the movies Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder. The Thor films were directed by popular director Taika Waititi, with whom Neill also worked on the film Hunt for Wilderpeople. Neill is next set to appear in the films Scarygirl and Bring Him to Me and the Liane Moriarty series adaptation, Apples Never Fall.

Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler

Laura Dern appears as Dr. Ellie Sattler, a paleobotanist, which is a scientist who studies fossilized plants. Along with Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler is promised funding for her archeological dig if she will visit Jurassic Park. Although the pair are resistant at first, once they arrive, they are in awe of the dinosaurs and ancient plants coming to life before their eyes. Dern returned as Dr. Sattler in the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion. It was a special moment when after over a 20-year hiatus Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler reappeared on screen, adding a nice dose of nostalgia.

After Jurassic Park, Dern went on to create a wonderful career for herself. She was even nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the film Rambling Rose as the title character. Some of her more popular films include The Fault in Our Stars, Little Women, and Star Wars: Episode VIII- The Last Jedi. She also appeared on television in series such as Big Little Lies, Twin Peaks, and Enlightened. Dern's most recent film credit was in the 2022 film The Son, and she is set to appear next in the upcoming miniseries Palm Royale.

Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm

Dr. Ian Malcolm is a mathematician specializing in chaos theory in Jurassic Park. He is played by Jeff Goldblum, who brings some much-needed comedy to the film. Dr. Ian Malcolm has appeared in all of the Jurassic Park sequels except for Jurassic Park III. Goldblum was already known for his role in The Fly, but playing Dr. Ian Malcolm skyrocketed his career.

After Jurassic Park, he worked on films such as Independence Day, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. He is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well, having played the character of Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok. His popularity even scored him his own show on Disney+ titled The World According to Jeff Goldblum. We are looking forward to Goldblum's multiple upcoming projects, including his portrayal of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the Wicked musical films and his role in the Wes Anderson movie Asteroid City.

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Richard Attenborough as John Hammond

The man who started the whole adventure is John Hammond. He is played by Richard Attenborough who manages to make the character likable, despite the fact that his crazy idea led to all the chaos. Attenborough was born in England but went on to wear many hats in Hollywood including actor, producer, and director. He returned as Hammond in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Attenborough took part in notable films before and after Jurassic Park, including acting in The Great Escape, Doctor Doolittle, and Miracle on 34th Street. The films A Chorus Line, Cry Freedom, and Gandhi were directed by Attenborough. He also produced the latter two films and won two Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for Gandhi. Attenborough was honored with multiple Golden Globe and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations and wins. Impressively, he also served as the president of the BAFTA and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Unfortunately, Attenborough passed away in 2014 at 90 years old, leaving a lasting mark on cinema history.

Samuel L. Jackson as Ray Arnold

Ray Arnold is the chief engineer of Jurassic Park, played by superstar Samuel L. Jackson. Arnold was sadly killed (offscreen) by a pack of velociraptors. At the time of this portrayal, Jackson had not yet risen to the level of fame he enjoys today. What helped him get to the top was his role in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction as Jules Winnfield, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Throughout the years he has had continued success and is an A-list Hollywood actor. He continued to work with Tarantino on some of his biggest films including Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and Kill Bill: Vol 2. He is part of some of the most popular franchises of all time, playing Nick Fury in multiple Marvel TV series and films and playing Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Jackson received an Academy Honorary Award in 2022 for being "A cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide." He has also received nominations and won multiple awards such as Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and NAACP Image Awards. In June 2023, Jackson will be returning to his role as Nick Fury in the Marvel Disney+ series Secret Invasion. His other upcoming projects include a live-action adaptation of Afro Samurai, the MCU film The Marvels, a voice role in the animated film Garfield, and appearances in the movies The Kill Room, Argylle, Damaged, and The Piano Lesson.

Joseph Mazzello as Tim Murphy

Playing the dinosaur-obsessed grandkid of John Hammond is Joseph Mazzello. When Jurassic Park premiered, Mazello was only nine years old. Imagine getting your big break as an actor before your tenth birthday! Working with the directorial giant Steven Spielberg has been great for Murphy's career. Mazzello reappeared as Tim in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

He has gone on to continue acting throughout the past thirty years, appearing in a number of notable projects including the films Bohemian Rhapsody and The Social Network and the TV shows Justified, American Crime Story, and The Pacific, which is produced by Spielberg himself.

Ariana Richards as Alexis "Lex" Murphy

Tim's older sister Lex Murphy was portrayed by Ariana Richards. Richards was thirteen when the film premiered. Lex is a "computer nerd" whose skills end up coming in handy once things begin to go haywire. Returning to her role as Lex in The Lost World: Jurassic Park was one of Richards's last projects. The few other films she did after that were Angus, Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, and Battledogs. After that, she decided to move to Oregon and is focusing on life as a painter and artist. Richards told People that she was inspired to paint her first watercolor from her work on the film, stating, “I wanted to boil down the whole experience of Jurassic into my art. I painted an image of me from the Jell-O scene." Clearly despite her distance from Hollywood, she still holds her experience and her cast mates close to her heart. She was in attendance at the premieres of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World: Dominion.

Apart from these actors, Jurassic Park also starred Bob Peck as Robert Muldoon, Martin Ferrero as Donald Gennaro, B.D. Wong as Dr. Henry Wu (a character who gets a much bigger role in the Jurassic World movies), Wayne Knight as Dennis Nedry, Jerry Molen as Dr. Harding, Miguel Sandoval as Juanito Rostagno, Cameron Thor as Dr. Lewis Dodgson, and many more.