we’d do familiar subjects in which we
might be able to find something unex-
pected: historic, scientific, and some-
thing of the human connection, our
own story, triggered by these things.Are you curious about why you’re
curious?
Having two kids, I am in a cycle of
particularly appetized curiosity. My
kids look around and they say, What is
this, why is this? Maybe it’s something
you pass down. Or maybe our species
has to be curious to be connected to
the world. While making this show, I
read these books by Yuval Noah Harari:
Sapiens, Homo Deus, and 21 Lessons for
the 21st Century. As Harari says, larger
issues like climate change, the dangers
of nuclear proliferation, and technolog-
ical disruption can be solved only with
global cooperation. It was always true
that the only reason the human species
proliferated and flourished was that
we cooperated in groups and therefore
were curious about each other.If you could time travel, who would
you want to meet?
I just started reading The Inven-
tion of Nature about Alexander von
Humboldt. They say more things are
named after him than anybody else.
He predicted climate change chal-
lenges, the unintended consequences
of civilization, the industrial revolu-
tion. I bet his would be a good brain
to pick. That’s kind of the show in a
nutshell: It’s me, not pretending to
know any more than I do, but getting
interested, talking to interesting peo-
ple who come from an unexpected
place, and having a curious and fun
encounter with them. And letting my
mind, such as it is, roam free. jJEFF GOLDBLUM crackles with curi-
osity. Eyes wide, posture keen, mouth
agape, hand gestures expectant. It’s a
quality he’s leased to an array of wide-
eyed, reactor-brained characters in
films such as Jurassic Park, Indepen-
dence Day, and The Fly. Now the Penn-
sylvania-born actor and musician—a
man of 67 who, by his own admis-
sion, is “still four years old in many
respects”—is unleashing his eccentric
brand of curiosity in a new show for
National Geographic and Disney+.
He explores a suite of subjects: Poli-
tics, disease, and crime are out; bikes,
pools, and tattoos are in. It’s The World
According to Jeff Goldblum.Your subjects—denim, gaming, ice
cream, barbecue—seem quite dispa-
rate but universal. Why these?
They’re eclectic, a mélange, a potpourri,
a shepherd’s pie, with many surprises.
I’d recently hosted three episodes of
a National Geographic show called
Explorer—and really loved them. That’s
how this show came about. We thoughtFinding the Surprises
in Familiar Things
JEFF
GOLDBLUMPHOTO AND INTERVIEW: SIMON INGRAM
The World According to
Jeff Goldblum premieres
on Disney+ this spring.
For an extended version
of this interview, visit
http://www.nationalgeographic.
co.uk/jeffgoldblum.
3 QUESTIONS (^) | EXPLORE