Hollywood could learn a thing or two from Jeff Goldblum.
A living legend, Jeff Goldblum got his first break into film with a silent role as a nameless thug in Death Wish with Charles Bronson in 1974, and used his towering, bookish good looks and charismatic spirit to win supporting roles in Silverado (where he met first wife, actress Patricia Gaul), The Big Chill and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
His breakthrough came in the mid-80s in David Cronenberg’s remake of The Fly, which thrust the actor into the A-list. It’s also where he met second wife, Geena Davis. And he followed that with a string of modern classics including The Tall Guy and Earth Girls Are Easy (also with Davis).
And then came a lead in what was to become one of the biggest movies in history - Jurassic Park. Together with Spielberg and a bunch of ferocious dinosaurs, Jeff astounded and gripped audiences with his performances as sardonic Dr. Ian Malcolm to a bountiful tune of over $1 billion at the box office.
Surely, one would think, he could never match that in his career, but three years later, he did just that with Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi juggernaut, Independence Day, an earth-shattering saga in which marauding aliens bring havoc to the planet. Once again, the film raked up just under 1 billion at the box office.
Goldblum was the king of the blockbuster.
And while attempting to leave behind his CGI’d roots with a series of indie hits over the years a la, Igby Goes Down, Le Weekend and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Goldblum was in then tempted back for another adventure with the dinos in Fallen Kingdom, which followed the mighty Thor: Ragnarok.
But the mid-60s version of Goldblum is about so much more. It’s as if, in these middle years—“it’s mid to late, but thank you” he chips in, in response to the phrase,—the Pennsylvania-born entertainer has finally afforded himself the time, freedom and creativity to pursue all of those projects that had to sit by the wayside as film scripts continued to be delivered through the door.
Notably, there’s a growing discography that celebrates his skill and accomplishment on the piano. Celebrating his love of jazz and swing, Goldblum has released “The Capitol Studio Sessions,” and “I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This,” to abundant critical acclaim, and accompanying live dates have followed. “I think if you ask many actors, they will tell you music is their second love. The two really go hand in hand, and that is certainly the case for me. It is a creative expression that is so removed from acting but feels so close at the same “time.”
At age 67, steadfastly youthful in a black leather bike jacket and gray fitted polo, the actor chats about music, film and new fatherhood—a first son with this third wife, Emilie Livingstone, who coincidentally gave birth to him on Independence Day last year. In frank, typically chatty form, he looks back on his career and explains why he’ll never stop learning.
STRIPLV: How does sci-fi, history and jazz all link together in one person? GOLDBLUM: Well, I do like combining anything that inspires me to think deeply, be creative and feel satisfied. That’s why we are on this planet, after all, and very lucky to be, as well. I love science fiction movies and could speak about them all day, but I also love the real space history and, in particular, how we came to be on Earth. It’s all a passion. Would I go so far as to say music knits those together – no! But have you ever seen a space sci-fi movie without a classical music soundtrack? Think about that. Have you ever seen a deeply romantic movie without some sort of jazzy interlude? Have you ever seen a car chase without a percussion accompaniment? This is the value of music; it’s what we notice and what we don’t notice. STRIPLV: It must have felt like a dream come true to record your album “I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This” in the way you did, at the studio where some of the most famous musicians in history made their albums. GOLDBLUM: Yeah, it kind of was and to make the record at the Capitol Building in Los Angeles where artists like Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and many more recorded theirs. It was such an amazing thing to do. It was all done so quick, as well, yeah. Both from the time we signed the agreement to do it there, with Decca, and also to lay down the tracks and get it released. STRIPLV: Music and acting are your two big things in life, but you were very musical before you went into acting, weren’t you? GOLDBLUM: I always wanted to be an actor, but I was a piano player in a few cocktail bars and stuff, and I was able to do my acting, as well. So, it’s not something which is totally out of the blue. Maybe when people see that I have released a few albums, they would think it was out of comedy or novelty or something like that, and I get that because they know me more from my acting, but I’ve been playing piano for years and for about the last eight years or so, I’ve been playing in a band, and we have a residency in a place in Los Angeles called Rockwell. It’s such a great time to be doing it because I’ve been able to achieve success in my acting career, and I’m now fortunate enough to be able to completely relax and play music and just be who I want to be. I have evolved, like everything around me! STRIPLV: Evolution being another of your fascinations, of course. GOLDBLUM: Well I watched an incredible program which was done by National Geographic called “One Strange Rock,” and it goes through how the Earth was formed, what was here before us on the planet, how life came about and the absolute luck as to why things are the way they are today. So, we had the dinosaurs here before us, and then we appeared, and it’s such a beautiful way of giving the information, but it’s all totally by chance, all of it. STRIPLV: I have to say you haven’t aged a day in 20 years. What’s the secret? GOLDBLUM: No secret, no elixir, because I would gladly take it if there were. (Laughs) I look after myself; I eat well and healthily, I work out from time to time, I don’t have any debilitating vices. And I “think” young. I don’t think of myself as a young man like yourself, because I’m not, I’m far from it. But I try to see things from a younger, more optimistic perspective which can help you look younger. Thinking younger, looking younger. And I’m not saying, trying to physically look younger because that generally has the opposite effect. I’m also a father now, Charlie Ocean, he keeps me young. STRIPLV: Ocean, I love that name! GOLDBLUM: Thank you! He likes it too. STRIPLV: And he was born on Independence Day! Sure the studio loved that? GOLDBLUM: It doesn’t get better than that. Joyous coincidence. You know, we were told July 4th, but you give allowances for a couple of weeks before and after. Normally a first baby is supposed to be overdue. But sure as you know it, Emilie says, “Oh, I think something is happening.” And along came Charlie Ocean on Independence Day. You couldn’t make it up. (Laughs) STRIPLV: Now that you’ve come back to Independence Day, we will see Dr. Malcolm come back to Jurassic Park Dominion. GOLDBLUM: (Laughs) I didn’t know if there was a place for the character is the new world, but it appears there is! STRIPLV: Between fighting green screen aliens and green screen dinosaurs, you’re a green screen veteran. GOLDBLUM: It’s just an extension of acting, all that green screen stuff, although in Jurassic Park, some of the dinosaurs were done by Stan Winston’s exemplary puppeteering, which was something to marvel. Oh, wow, you’ve never seen anything like that. But acting always has some element of imagination, and in these movies, it’s not meant to be. It’s fantasy, and I’m pretending, that’s what I do as an actor. In everything I’ve done, plays I’ve done, you’re often pretending you’re in a place you’re not really in, but that’s what it’s all about. It’s a game. STRIPLV: When did you first decide you wanted to be an actor? GOLDBLUM: When I was a kid, I got the idea early on to be an actor just from watching the greats like Peter Sellers. Oh, the magnificent Peter Sellers in Lolita, Clouseau, Being There. Then Brando, people I adored, still adore. And then I remember when, during my last years in high school, every morning I would have a shower, and on the steam on my shower door, I would write, “Please God, let me be an actor,” and then I would wipe it off before anyone could see it. It was kind of a secret. Then I left Pittsburgh, moved to New York for four years and studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse and learned under the great Sandy Meisner who taught me to learn to be a piece of nature and appreciate the moment and the movement around you. “Use what exists.” he would always say, which has a rainbow of different meanings, but it’s my mantra in life. I never stop learning. Even to this day, at this moment, I will never stop learning. Acting is a constant education. STRIPLV: You’ve been acting now for over 40 years. Haven’t you learned enough at this stage? GOLDBLUM: These are my acting studies; it’s like gardening; it takes constant excavating, and over a long period of time, you see growth and life. And it’s enjoyable to be in the process of trying and digging, and I hope that never ceases. Where music is concerned, I feel I am still right at the start, despite having been musical for decades. I know next to nothing! And I like that! STRIPLV: Are you more comfortable with box office smashes or in indie movies? GOLDBLUM: I’m nourished by the act of acting. That’s what absorbs me and delights and appetizes my spiritual palate. I’m more interested in what it’s about and people, if they see it, will they be nourished by it? That’s what I care about. There are many different ways to answer that, but predominantly, I don’t know. From the day I got my first job, there was never any structure or plan. I fell into this because it was a passion that I loved; I went with my gut and followed what I loved to do. That’s a success at life right there.