Jurassic World star Bryce Dallas Howard says being chased in high heels was a pain
Running away from dinosaurs which aren’t really there would be enough of a challenge for most actors. But for Bryce Dallas Howard, it was even trickier — because she had to do it in heels.
The actress stars in Jurassic World, which comes 22 years after Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was first released.
It features a fully operational dinosaur theme park run by Howard’s character Claire, who risks life and limb when an experimental creature goes on the rampage.
Howard, 34, said the weight of expectation on the project was “like a jillion pounds”, not least because the original was part of her childhood — and that of co-star Chris Pratt, 35, who plays dinosaur expert Owen.
“This was our generation’s movie,” she said. “This was our Star Wars. I had a ticker tape going through my mind the entire shoot which was: Do not mess this up. But my own anxiety was alleviated somewhat when I saw it. My own wish-fulfilment as a fan came true.”
Howard, the daughter of director Ron Howard and star of films including The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, said they realised early on her character “has got to be in heels” despite the action sequences.
“In my day to day life, I’m more of a flats person,” she added. “It was tricky but I kind of got the hang of it near the end. I realised what I had to do was run on tippy toes then I wouldn’t sink into the mud. It felt really good because I was never that girl before.”
The other challenge was acting with mostly computer-generated dinosaurs, although the raptors were represented on set by actors and an animatronic beast was created for one scene.
The dinosaurs had to be “astounding” she said, because that was part of the magic of the original.
“It’s the wonder of being in the cinema as an audience member and being swept away by something that your wildest dreams could hardly imagine,” she said. “Wouldn’t it be incredible if this did that for a new generation?”
The story, the fourth in the series, was very modern but felt almost Shakespearean, she said, adding: “It’s about the hubris of man particularly as it pertains to technology and men trying to be God.”
She has no idea whether she would be able to star in a follow-up — but she would love to. “Either way I’m going to be enjoying myself, in the theatre or on set,” she said.
Jurassic World is out next Friday.
