Jeff Goldblum on the “genius” Wes Anderson and what makes him “delightful in every way”
Jeff Goldblum: Those two words conjure more images than any full biography of the man ever could.
He is a treasure in every sense—a brilliant actor, a talented musician, a hilarious interview guest, an endless source of memes and internet comedy, such that it’s hard to remember a time when he was just a guy from the movies. Now, he’s a part of every corner of our lives, and nobody is complaining about that.
Back when he was purely of the silver screen, Goldblum worked with some of the finest directors in the game. He starred with his iconic chest out in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park and sequel The Lost World, was handpicked by body-horror extraordinaire David Cronenberg to lead his rebooted version of The Fly and honed his craft with small roles in films by Robert Altman and Woody Allen. More recently, he played a key role in Taika Waititi’s first Marvel movie, Thor: Ragnarok, a process he enjoyed immensely.
As part of an ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) on Reddit, Goldblum was asked about some of the great creative minds he’s taken instructions from over the years, and one name he seemed to be particularly keen to talk about was the one and only Wes Anderson.
“Wes Anderson is a genius,” he said, “He makes landmark movies that I am so proud to be in… he is delightful in every way and so are all the actors and artists that he attracts around him”.
The actor first joined the Anderson travelling circus for the 2004 film The Life and Death of Steve Zissou. He played an oceanographer-turned-filmmaker and the primary rival of Bill Murray’s title character. He then took a decade-long break from the synchronised world of pastel and characters with moustaches before returning as part of The Grand Budapest Hotel. He voiced a gossip-loving canine as part of Isle of Dogs and had a brief cameo as an alien in Asteroid City, the role he was born to play. He might not have been in most Anderson flicks (you’d be hard-pressed to edge out Bill Murray in that regard), but he does have a special place in his heart for every one of them.
On paper, Goldblum is exactly the sort of actor who should be part of Anderson’s regular roster. Both men make a very strong case for being the ‘king of quirk’; Anderson with his hyper-specific style of moviemaking, Goldblum with his eccentric off-screen personality. He handles the naturalistic, verbose dialogue perfectly and always looks the part, even among the various other oddballs that the director likes to surround himself with. Honestly, it’s a bit surprising that they haven’t worked together more.
Though he wasn’t part of The Phonecian Scheme and though Anderson’s cast of regulars continues to grow, you can rest assured you haven’t seen the last of Goldblum in one of his films. The two were simply made for each other and there’s no way they won’t get the chance to collaborate at least one more time. Especially if Jeff keeps being nice him to in public interviews.
