FILM

AN ESSAY ON JEFF GOLDBLUM

yes, really

By Eli Cather

He's fly

Since landing his first lead role as Dr. Seth Brundle in David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986), Jeff Goldblum has been on a steady and escalating path to becoming “Jeff Goldblum”, a man who is more than “Jeff Goldblum” the actor, and the actor “Jeff Goldblum” who is approaching mythic status, or maybe I’m going a bit too far. He has starred in some of the highest grossing films of his era, including Jurassic Park (1993) and Independence Day (1996), along with a myriad of other lower-budget independent films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Earth Girls Are Easy (1988). He has even been known to branch out into different forms of art making, like directing the short film Little Surprises in 1996, or into the world of music in the last few years with his own jazz band.

Goldblum has become a staple of Hollywood during his nearly five decade-long career. He has amassed such a large and dedicated fan base that he has reached meme level status, which for a seventy-year old, is quite an honor. He’s become an actor that people of all genders are attracted to, despite his senior citizen status and the fact that he lacks the hyper masculine, leading man looks of George Clooney or Denzel Washington. Goldblum just doesn't possess that same aura, but yet he somehow remains a heartthrob.

Only a Goldblum

People have even been known to get tattoos of him and the characters that he's played over the years (myself included). In everything he does, he brings a quirky energy that can hardly be described in words. But in this essay, I will be attempting to do just that. Why has Jeff Goldblum gone from seemingly normal celebrity status, to now being so well loved that he is not just an actor, but also a star unlike any other in the galaxy.

That's my Goldblum

Goldblum has made a career of playing roles that are often characterized as being eccentric, nerdy, brilliant and witty. He often delivers his lines with a deadpan delivery that has a sharp comic edge. Many have said that Goldblum seemingly plays the same character again and again and again, and that is true, from Ian Mallcom, to Seth Brundle, to The Grandmaster, you feel that they almost exist in some type of multiverse where all the DNA strands lead back to Goldblum.

He is the grandmaster

Perhaps Goldblum’s closest artistic allies are performers like the Rock, where the actor’s personality almost always overcomes whatever character they play. And, of course, for many critics, this is a fault. But that’s the glory of stardom and Goldblum, and, in fact, many fans openly acknowledge this, and aren't bothered by it. Let the thespians spend their entire careers seamlessly slipping in and out of roles, disappearing into multiple characters, and leaving no trace of the person they were behind, Goldblum is always Goldblum, plus character. In any interview, Goldblum’s eccentricities and strange manner of speaking are all his own. He doesn't intentionally put these aspects into the characters he plays, but he instead intentionally allows his “Goldblum” to possess all the parts he plays. Despite the fact that both of these actors seemingly play themselves in movie after movie, Goldblum’s appearance can change radically from role to role.

Who

Is

This Goldblum?

The Rock always looks like The Rock, but Goldblum shapeshifts, in the manner of say, an actor like Johnny Depp. Depp’s transformations are at times absolute, think of the difference between Edward Scissorhands and Willy Wonka. Yes, we know it’s Depp, but almost nothing connects these two characters and, in fact, it’s easy to imagine other actors playing the roles. This is never true of Goldblum: once he puts his stamp on the character, the character is forever labeled as a purely Goldblum character.

It’s also been said that Goldblum has a talent for playing droll, weirdly likable characters, who you would otherwise hate if they weren’t played by Goldblum. Many of his characters are high level smart asses, the type of smart ass that doesn’t care for anyone else, as long as he's proven correct, such as Malcolm from Jurassic Park and Levinson from Independence Day. The Fly is an early Goldblum vehicle, and yet the full Goldblum is present here. And yet there’s something in him that we love despite this. In Thor: Ragnarok, he plays a character who is a vile hedonist, whose sole joy in life is making others duel for his entertainment, and yet audiences still love him. And unlike other personality-based actors, Goldblum’s characters often suffer tragic ends, as if for all his characters' confidence and intelligence, he still can fail. The Life Aquatic (2004) begins with Goldblum’s character Alistair Hennessey at the top of his field, a state of the art boat, and a full crew. By the end, his entire crew is shanghied and murdered, his boat sunk, and he’s found only by accident by Zissou’s team, who end up saving him from pirates.

Not even the strangest image of our Goldblum

As anyone can see from watching Goldblum’s interviews, he has a strangely poetic way of speaking while being incredibly comedic and funny. He mumbles and stutters throughout his sentences, and yet has a quick wit. And you can see these qualities in many of the characters he plays. This is certainly true of the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnorok. It’s well-known that Taikia Waititi, asked him not to do "anything theatrical or cartoony”, that he wanted him to "be contemporary" and harness part of his natural "straight behavior.” Obviously, a great deal of the performance is improvised and there’s never been dialog quite like that in a major Hollywood blockbuster.

Most viewers and critics would classify Goldblum as a character actor, but this interpretation could still be very much up for debate. A character actor is defined as an actor who plays primarily supporting roles, one that is still important to the overall plot. Examples of character roles that Goldblum has played over his career include (arguably his most iconic role) in Jurassic Park (1993), Independence Day (1996), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017). But when you look more closely into most character actors, they often are the actors most likely to disappear into a role, to play a character realistically. Goldblum acts like a star, himself, but from the position of the character actor.

Jeff Goldblum has seemed to defy all definitions during his long career in Hollywood. He stands out from the hordes of other celebrities as being uniquely eccentric, and exceptional in his work. He has created this persona of “Jeff Goldblum”, and people love him, and will continue to love him, for being purely original and unlike anyone else.

©Eli Cather and the CCA Arts Review