'Jurassic Park' at 30: Jeff Goldblum reveals why he unbuttoned his shirt in now-infamous scene, says he was 'in some kind of fever'

Jurassic Park became an instant classic when it was released 30 years ago, on June 11, 1993 — and the killer T. rex and her prehistoric pals deserve much of the credit for that (along with their puppet master, Steven Spielberg). But the human ensemble was first-rate, too: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, and the late, great Richard Attenborough.

Yet no cast member has been more celebrated (or at least memed) than Jeff Goldblum, who got all the best lines as Dr. Ian Malcolm, the resident devil’s advocate and chaos theorist.

In a Role Recall interview with Yahoo Entertainment (watch clip above), Goldblum took Yahoo Entertainment inside his most memorable moments, beginning with the now-legendary scene where an injured Malcolm shows some skin as he lays seductively on a couch during the height of the film’s chaos.

“I’m suffering. … I’m stoically and manfully bearing up with some kind of pain,” Goldblum explained. “And, well, it’s Hawaii — or, well, it’s supposed to be Costa Rica — so things are hot and I’m sure I’m in some kind of fever. So all of the logic is that you have to get some of these wet clothes off, immediately.”

Goldblum doesn’t remember whose idea it was for him to disrobe, but he is well aware of its place in pop culture. “Now we have to look at pictures of it, and paintings of it,” he said before referencing popular toy brand Funko, which took the scene to a whole new level by offering a Malcolm figure that has his chest exposed. Mattel got in on the action, too, releasing its own chest-baring "chaos theory" action figure.

Fans have also latched on to Malcolm’s goofy laugh (or “suggestive gurgle,” as the actor describes it) during an early scene on a helicopter. It’s gotten an EDM remix that has more than 4 million views.

“That was one of the first things we shot,” Goldblum remembered. “We were just on me, and it just occurred. I don’t even think it said [I laugh] in the script.”

Watch our full Role Recall interview with Jeff Goldblum:

Editor's note: A version of this story was first published on June 11, 2018.