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Dr. Ian Malcolm is a fictional character from the Jurassic Park franchise created by Michael Crichton and portrayed by Jeff Goldblum. Malcolm is a gifted mathematician who specializes in chaos theory. The character was inspired in part by American historian of science James Gleick and French mathematician Ivar Ekeland. In Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park and its 1993 film adaptation, Malcolm is invited by insurance lawyer Donald Gennaro to notice any problems with John Hammond's dinosaur theme park, Jurassic Park. Malcolm was intended by Crichton to fill in the role of the audience in the scenarios he is put through. Malcolm is a secondary protagonist in the original novel and the main protagonist in the sequel The Lost World, due to positive fan reception from Goldblum's performance as the character in director Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of the original novel.
His role as Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park skyrocketed Goldblum's career. Malcolm has become one of Goldblum's most popular characters and has been depicted in many forms of popular culture. The character's signature line "Life finds a way" has become synonymous with Goldblum and the Jurassic Park franchise, and Malcolm has been recognized as the franchise's most enduring character.
Why He Finds a Way
- Ian Malcolm is easily the most iconic and most legendary human character in the Jurassic Park franchise.
- He’s one of Jeff Goldblum’s best known performances, along with Seth Brundle from The Fly (1986), David Levinson from Independence Day, and the Grandmaster from the MCU.
- In fact, he might be Jeff Goldblum’s most adored character he has played.
- He looks pretty good and attractive.
- He has a lot of iconic lines, especially "life finds a way".
Trivia
- His character is based on both Ivar Ekeland and James Gleick.
- Malcolm's all-black clothing style reflects that of Heinz-Otto Peitgen, a mathematician who wrote a richly illustrated book on fractals.
- Jim Carrey was considered for the role of Ian Malcolm.
- Michael Keaton, Bruce Campbell, Johnny Depp, Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg, and Michael J. Fox were screentested for the part of Dr. Ian Malcolm.
- Ian Malcolm was originally going to appear in Jurassic Park III, but was removed after Jeff Goldblum injured his leg.