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Laura Dern (55) and Sam Neill (74) are reprising their roles as Dr. Ellie Sattler and Dr. Alan Grant in the upcoming installment of the Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World: Dominion. After 21 years, the two stars have surprised netizens with a recent revelation regarding their age ahead of their on-screen reunion.
In a recent interview, the two actors reflected on their 19-year age gap, which felt "completely appropriate" to the two when shooting the first two films of the original trilogy. Neill revealed that the age gap between him and Dern never stood out until he recently read about it in a magazine that mentioned it.
While the stars spoke about their age gap, it appears that their characters in the series have a much less difference in their ages. In the first Jurassic Park film, a slight romance between Dr. Sattler and Dr. Grant was hinted at. During the first film's production, Sam Neill was reportedly 44, while Dern was just 23.
What did Jurassic World: Dominion co-stars Sam Neill and Laura Dern say about age gap?
In the interview, Sam Neill said:
"Laura was a tender age. I'm guessing 23? I am 20 (19) years older than Laura, which, at the time, was a completely appropriate age difference for a leading man and lady!"
He then continued how he never felt the age gap between the two until he opened a magazine and found an article titled "Old geezers and gals." As per Sam Neill's claims, the piece featured the likes of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery, who acted alongside much younger actresses. The New Zealand actor was surprised to find himself on the list.
While Sam Neill had a 19-year age difference between him and Laura Dern, his associate from the list, Sean Connery, had a 39-year age gap with Catherine Zeta-Jones in 1999's Entrapment.
Meanwhile, Harrison Ford had an age gap of 26 years between him and Anne Heche in 1998's Six Days, Seven Nights. Ford also has an age difference of 22-years with his wife, Calista Flockhart.
Laura Dern on age gap with Sam Neill
During the interview, the actress said:
"Well, it felt completely appropriate to fall in love with Sam Neill. And it was only now, when we returned in a moment of cultural awareness about the patriarchy, that I was, like, 'Wow! We're not the same age?'"
However, for Laura Dern, Sam Neill is not the only old actor with whom she has been paired in a role. In 2016's The Founder, Dern portrayed the wife of Ray Croc, played by Michael Keaton, 15 years her senior.
Netizens left surprised by Laura Dern and Sam Neill's age gap
Fans of the Jurassic Park series were left shocked after the recent revelation of Neill and Dern's age difference. While numerous Twitter users were surprised to learn the actress's actual age during Jurassic Park's production, many were shocked to learn that Neill is 74.
Meanwhile, others expressed that Dern appeared to be a lot older than she actually was. A few tweets also claimed that Dern's Ellie Sattler looked five years younger than Neill's Alan Grant.
However, some pointed out that the age gap might have been intentional. Throughout the film, it has been insinuated that Neill's character finds himself out of touch with technologies and other advancements.
Neill and Dern will be featured heavily in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion, set to release on June 10.
