“You did? When, just now?” says Goldblum, when we mention this;
a look of wide-eyed wonder coming over his face, as if we’d mentioned
bumping into Elvis in the lobby. “I’ve never met her. The saddest
words ever spoken are ‘what might have been’,” he adds, mock-
wistfully. “Jeez. I would like to say hello to her. How was she?”
She was, we say, shorter than expected.
“Well when you think Godfather Part III,” says Goldblum, recalling
the instalment in which a 19-year-old Coppola starred, “you think
of Andy Garcia, who’s no giant – not a shrimp, certainly – but, they
were a nice pair. Probably on the shorter side.”
That’s the other thing about Goldblum: he really loves movies.
When he meets the crew on GQ’s photo shoot, he introduces himself to
everyone on set by pointing out the actors they remind him of. For the
fashion editor, it’s Emily Blunt, the producer is Adrian Grenier, and we
apparently bring to mind “Donald Sutherland in 1968 film Joanna.”
We’ll take it.oldblum was born in Pittsburgh, to a doctor father and a
radio broadcaster mother. An accomplished dancer and
jazz musician, showbiz looked like it was always on the cards.
At 17, he moved to New York City to study under Sanford Meisner,
the renowned acting coach whose classes have seen everyone
from Steve McQueen to Diane Keaton.
For Goldblum, who now rarely drinks and gave up coffee two
years ago, these New York years were
as close as he’s come to living the movie
star life. “I experimented a bit,” he
recalls. “I’d never really had a drink,
so I got drunk a couple of times, threw
up, and experimented with a drug
or two. That lasted for a little bit.
But nothing to speak of.”
Meisner once told Goldblum that it
takes 20 years to call yourself an actor,
but whether or not he was calling
himself an actor, Goldblum was soon
acting. His first role was a minor part
but a big break, playing a leather-
jacketed hoodlum that the credits
identify simply as ‘Freak No.1’,
in Michael Winner’s 1974 film Death Wish.
“He was the first director I ever worked with, and had a reputation
of being a screamer,” says Goldblum, “and sure enough he screamed at
me. That was unpleasant and I saw him being not nice to other people- he was kind of a diva type. But it was my first job and I was just
thrilled to be there.”
Winner’s tantrums are the stuff of legend and the experience
taught Goldblum to avoid those with fearsome reputations. “I’m
thinking of a couple of people who I have purposely steered clear
of – a couple of directors,” he says, when we ask if there’s anyone he’s
hesitated working with. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable saying their
names. But I wouldn’t want to see them being abusive to anybody
and I don’t think I could accept that myself. I wouldn’t accept that.”
Goldblum’s career soon started to take off. He landed a number
of bit parts – in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, The Right Stuff and
The Big Chill – before scoring his first proper leading role in David
Cronenberg’s 1986 horror flick, The Fly. It was a huge critical
and commercial success, turning Golblum into a household name.
Like Goldblum’s daily routine, it could be said he got the hard work
out of the way so he could have some fun later on. In 1993 he appeared
in his first real blockbuster, Jurassic Park, as quirky, quotable brainiac,
Dr Ian Malcolm. The film made over $1bn worldwide. Three years
later, Independence Day hit cinemas with a similar impact, and
Goldblum’s role as kooky MIT expert David Levinson shaped his
reputation as one of Hollywood’s most unique character actors –
a man at his best when playing likeable oddballs.
“I’ve not been particularly careerist or strategic about the whole
thing. I went in on an appetite for adventure and that’s kind of where
it stays,” he says, of his trajectory. “I always did this, not to make
money, but to have this creative adventure. I know how easy it is
to compare yourself with other people, but I don’t get any pleasure
out of doing that.”
Goldblum could easily pass for a man a decade younger than
himself, but Hollywood is a tough place to grow older. Has he ever
looked around at some of his fellow actors, their foreheads as smooth
as bowling balls, and thought, ‘well, maybe time for a nip and tuck?’
“I’ve got an eye out for surgical foolishness,” he says. “It’s not my
thing – but I don’t think I’d be getting another part, if I did anything.
“Fifteen years ago, someone sent me to this dermatologist for a sun
spot and – I’ll be darned – he said, out of nowhere, ‘Before you leave,
I should show you my book’. He shows me Cher and a couple of other
people, and said, ‘I’ve done it to myself!’ – I’d already noticed, of
course – but I just couldn’t. Those lines mean something.”
We start to move on, but Goldblum is on a roll.
“And don’t get me started on alternatives for hair loss. I don’t
want to criticise anyone personally.
But I think it’s always a mistake. My
god. Even hair dye – the result is just
ridiculous. I won’t name names,” he
adds, before doing just that, “but you
don’t want that Arnold Schwarzenegger
auburn red-brown that doesn’t occur
in nature. Maybe some people want
that? I don’t.”
One thing Goldblum enjoys about this
point in his career is that he gets to watch
other actors’ careers take off. Actors like
Liam Hemsworth, who he worked with
on 2016’s long-awaited sequel,
Independence Day: Resurgence.
“I’m not a vampire exactly,” he laughs.
“But I enjoyed that stage of my development, when I was new to it and
getting my sea legs. Young Liam and I spent a lot of time on the moon
and in a capsule and on the sound stages – and even more time together
doing publicity. He’s a wonderful, sweet, talented, gorgeous guy.”
Most recently, Goldblum appeared alongside Liam’s brother,
Chris, on Thor: Ragnarok. “He couldn’t have been nicer,” he says,
flatly refusing to pick a favourite Hemsworth – he’s met all of them,
including the parents. “He was serious about his acting and fun and
appreciative and lovely to be around. Down to earth, of course.”
It’s now more than two decades since Independence Day and while
Goldblum’s never become the biggest star on the planet, he
transformed into something better. He’s become an icon. Not
just famous, but beloved. YouTube is filled with compilations of
Goldblum’s funniest moments or most iconic quotes, and his image
has been transformed into internet memes.
Some celebs get asked for selfies, but Goldlbum is the kind of
actor whom fans ask to perform whole scenes, like the one in Jurassic
Park where he pours droplets of water onto Laura Dern’s hand. It’s
something he’s only too happy to oblige, especially after his jazz set
at LA’s Rockwell club, which he performs on Wednesday evenings,
whenever he’s in town. The man’s energy seems to have no limit.G
MEN OF THE YEAR 2017 GQ.COM.AU 201“I’ve got an eye
out for surgical
foolishness...
Those lines
mean somthing.”