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"Trust me, there is no such thing as safe in this island."
—Grant about Site B to Paul Kirby(src)

Dr. Alan Grant is the main protagonist of the Jurassic Park franchise and the primary protagonist of Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III and one of the six main protagonists of Jurassic World: Dominion. He is a paleontologist who was invited by John Hammond to his dinosaur park, Jurassic Park. Grant is portrayed very differently over the various canons.

History[]

Jurassic Park[]

In Jurassic Park, Grant is a world-renowned paleontologist working at a dig site just outside Snakewater, Montana. He is described in the script as:

"DR ALAN GRANT, mid-thirties, a ragged-looking guy with intense concentration you wouldn't want to get in the way of."[1]

He is first seen at the dig site explaining the similarities of Velociraptor anatomy to those of modern birds; however, a bratty little boy called Eddie mocks the Raptor specimen as a "6 foot turkey". Grant silences the child by explaining in graphic detail the speculated violent hunting behavior of a Raptor. Later, Grant remarks that he hates children, alluding to why he made the effort to intimidate the boy.

In his trailer, Grant is invited by John Hammond, founder and CEO of InGen, to a theme park he built called Jurassic Park on the island of Isla Nublar. Grant and his partner Ellie Sattler accept the offer, in return of a further three years of dig funding.

Soon after Grant and Sattler arrive in Isla Nublar - still unaware of what animals the Park hosts - alongside Hammond, Dr. Ian Malcolm, and Donald Gennaro, Grant is astonished and left speechless by the sight of a living, breathing Brachiosaurus. The group is shown in the Visitor Center how dinosaur DNA was extracted for cloning, before they witness the birth of a Velociraptor.

GrantandThePhone

"Mr. Hammond, the phones are working."

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Alan, Ellie, Lex and Tim

After lunch, the group embarks on a ride through the Park to see the dinosaur exhibits. The day quickly turns into an episode when Rexy escapes her paddock after Dennis Nedry sabotages the Park's systems. While siblings Lex and Tim Murphy are in danger from the T-Rex, Grant remarks to himself that the frantic kids are drawing attention to themselves with a flashlight. He and Malcolm successfully lure the T. rex away from the children, except Grant and the children must flee to safety - the Visitor Center - through a series of pitfalls. This includes fast roping down a tall concrete wall, evading a Ford Explorer falling down a 20-foot tree, running from a herd of Gallimimus, and climbing over an electric fence.

After they finally reach the Visitor Center, Lex is able to use its computer room to restart all of the systems in the park. Reunited with Sattler, Grant and the children battle raptors until the T-Rex intervenes, killing the raptors. The group escapes the Visitor Center, and Hammond and Malcolm picks them up using a staff Jeep Wrangler. Grant tells John that he has decided not to endorse the Park to Hammond's investors, and Hammond agrees with this sentiment. The group boards a helicopter, leaving the island. Grant expresses to Sattler that he has changed his attitude towards children, seeing how resourceful, courageous and moral Lex and Tim were. The group looks over the island, as Hammond gazes at his walking stick with a mosquito fossil preserved in the amber knob.

Jurassic Park III[]

Alan appears again in Jurassic Park III. The experience on Isla Nublar has left Alan somewhat openly jaded towards dinosaurs, nearly to the point of post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite this, he continues to work as a paleontologist, this time at a dig site near Fort Peck Lake, Montana. However, the dig is cripplingly underfunded due to public interest in recovering dinosaur fossils growing diminished after the revelation of InGen's cloned dinosaurs, which Grant openly refers to as "circus freaks" and "genetically engineered theme-park monsters", rather than true dinosaurs. His partnership with Ellie has ended, though they remain close friends. Now he has a new partner in Billy Brennan, his paleontology colleague and apparent protege, but it is Alan who must rein in Billy's headstrong and impulsive tendencies.

He visits Ellie and her husband Mark, quite pleased to spend time explaining dinosaurs to Ellie's firstborn, her three-year-old son. In a way, he envies Ellie and her happy family and wonders why he shies away from marriage and fatherhood.

He gives lectures on the intelligence of Raptors. However, his listeners are only interested in the events in 1993 and the San Diego incident. He states that he didn't witness the latter and that nothing could get him to go to The Five Deaths (Isla Sorna/Site B). He is later bribed into going on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna by wealthy couple, Paul Kirby and Amanda Kirby. Alan invited Billy to accompany him on the trip.

While they are flying over the island, Alan notices that the pilot is going to land. Alan begins to protest but is knocked unconscious by Cooper, one of the mercenaries hired by the Kirbys. When Alan wakes up, they have landed on the island already. Then after a take-off disrupted by a Spinosaurus, Alan and the others are stranded on the island. Alan soon discovers the truth that the Kirbys are not wealthy or married, but a divorced couple who were searching for their son, Eric, who was lost on the island eight weeks before, who sought Grant's help based on his adventures on Isla Nublar, unaware the island Eric had visited was Isla Sorna. Alan, using his knowledge of dinosaurs, survives with the Kirbys and an injured Billy, who had attempted to steal unhatched Raptor Eggs in the pursuit of funding for the dig site resulting in the local Raptor pack hunting the humans relentlessly in a bid to recover the stolen eggs. Despite the traumatic events of the film, his love for dinosaurs is ultimately reinvigorated after once more experiencing them firsthand. Not much is known about what happened to Grant after the incident.

Jurassic World: Dominion[]

Grant dig site Utah with old photo

Ellie and Grant's photo at Grant's tent

During a dig in Utah, Alan was reunited with Ellie. They met at his tent, where he keeps an old photo from the time they worked together in the '90s. She tells him that Giant locusts were causing the crops to drop. At first, Alan refused to help Ellie get a sample of the locust that was causing the problem, stating he was done with all of that. However, hearing that the locust could cause a disaster for the world along with seeing their old friend Ian on a front cover of a book and that he was the one who invited Ellie to come to Biosyn valley, Alan was convinced to help and accompanied his oldest friend. After arriving at Biosyn, Alan and Ellie meet Ramsay Cole and Lewis Dodgson, the CEO of Biosyn. Alan and Ellie reunited with Ian as they gave them a key that would help them get the sample of the locust.

Alan and Ellie were successful in getting the sample but were nearly killed when the insects swarm around them. However, Alan and Ellie managed to escape from them then meet a teenage girl named Maisie Lockwood, who had been kidnapped by Biosyn but escaped, as they leave the building together. Through the help of Ramsay, Alan, Ellie and Maisie escape through a hyperloop. However, after the hyperloop came to a stop, Alan, Ellie and Maisie leave it as they discovered that they're in a mine.

While looking for a way to get out of the mine, Alan calmed a panicked Ellie down then tells her that he wasn't happy with the life he had, which surprised her. When asked by Maisie if they were together, Alan and Ellie told her they were not but they're still friends. Through the help of Ian, Alan, Ellie and Maisie escaped the mine. Alan and the group leave in the car that Ian brought with him. However, they discovered that Biosyn was destroying evidence through a fire in a group of insect, but managed to get away from them.

After falling over inside the car, Alan, Ellie and Ian see three people in front of them at a research outpost, but Maisie recognized two of them as her adoptive parents. As she exited the car to embrace her family, Alan, Ellie and Ian exited the car as Maisie told her parents that they rescued her, much to their gratitude. However, they were attacked by a Giganotosaurus but were able to escape its attack. While regrouping, Alan and Ellie were given some water by Maisie's father as he introduced himself as Owen Grady. Alan was flattered to hear that Owen is a fan of his and read his book on tape, he then recognized him as one of the Raptor trainers at Jurassic World.

While Ellie left with Maisie's mother, Claire Dearing, to bring power back online to safely leave Biosyn, Alan reluctantly accompanied Owen and Maisie in retrieving Beta, a baby Raptor that belong to Blue, a Velociraptor that Owen trained. Once they found her, Alan witness Maisie use what her father taught her about handling Raptors to ensure Beta only had her eyes on her. Seeing this, Alan was inspired to help them as he and Owen triangulate while Maisie kept Beta eyeing on her so her father can knock her out, which they were able to do. After getting Beta, Alan and the group meet up with Henry Wu as he recognized him as one of the scientists in Jurassic Park decades earlier. Alan and the group were unsure of trusting Henry, but Maisie convinces them to give him a chance. The group encounters the Giganotosaurus again who fights with Rexy, the old T. Rex from Jurassic Park who had been encountered nearly thirty years before by Grant, Ellie and Ian during the original Jurassic Park incident. With help from a Therizinosaurus, Rexy kills the Giganotosaurus as the group escapes from Biosyn.

After leaving Biosyn, Alan and Ellie renew their relationship and go to Washington D.C. to testify against Biosyn alongside Ian and Ramsay.

Personality and traits[]

Alan loves dinosaurs and dedicated his life to digging up fossils and researching them. Although he cares about those around them, Alan was originally not a big fan of kids and found them annoying, despite once being a child himself. However, after bonding with Hammond's grandchildren, Alan's opinion of kids changed and he would become protective of children, ensuring their safety first in later events, as seen with Eric and Maisie. Also, Alan would help his friends in anyway he could, even in dangerous situations.

The events at Jurassic Park left Alan unhappy with dinosaurs as he lost the passion he had with them. However, after being forced to help Paul and Amanda find their son Eric, Alan rediscovered his love and passion for dinosaurs again. Unfortunately, Alan was still traumatized by the events of Jurassic Park as he developed a deep fear of raptors, because of this he was reluctant in accompanying Maisie and Owen in capturing Beta. Despite this, Alan was willing to put his fear aside to help anyone in danger or in need. Also, Alan was skeptical that raptors could be trained and he was reluctant to try Owen Grady's method of taming them. However, after witnessing Maisie seeming succeed using Owen's method, Alan was convinced and utilized it to aid in capturing Beta, which they were able to do.

Throughout the years of digging fossils, Alan became unhappy with his life, but his mood changed after he rekindled his relationship with Ellie, finding excitement again. Alan even decided to accompany Ellie, Ian and Ramsay to testify against Biosyn to put an end to their plans for good.

It is implied in the films that Alan dislikes Ian Malcolm, possibly due to Malcolm's eccentric nature. After Alan saves Ian from a fall next to the Giganotosaurus in Dominion, Alan seemingly looks past Ian's personality and they seemingly become good friends.

Appearance[]

Alan Grant is a Caucasian man currently in his mid sixties, standing 6'0", with blue eyes and gray hair (brown in his youth). In Jurassic Park, Grant wore a long sleeved buttoned denim shirt, a brown belt, khaki pants, brown boots, a red bandana, and a palm leaf straw hat. He also at one point had a pair of sunglasses but lost them during the incident in the park. In Jurassic World: Dominion, Grant now sports a beard and the same hat from Jurassic Park III.

TV Series[]

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous[]

Season 1[]

During a flashback in episode 4, Darius discusses with his dad about someone posting Alan's article in the Jurassic World Forum, sometime before his father's death.

Season 2[]

The Watering Hole[]

After discovering the Watering Hole, Darius tells Kenji about Alan theorizing that the Water hole could be a neutral ground for predators and preys, under the right conditions. After leaving the Water Hole, Darius tells Kenji he wishes Alan was here and that he would have written a great article about this (the watering hole in particular). Kenji, however, tells him that he doesn't need Grant and that he could make Alan jealous with what he discovered.

Season 4[]

Darius Bowman mentions Alan as his personal idol in episode 11.

Dr. Grant's hat[]

GrantsHat

Grant's hat

A signature feature of Grant's character is his fedora hat. In the first movie, he always wears a hat until it is blown from his head by the T-Rex. In Jurassic Park III, he is again wearing a hat at the dig site, on the plane, and on the island. He loses it in the Aviary when fleeing the Pteranodons. When Billy and Alan meet again, Billy returns Alan's hat, saying "I rescued your hat." Alan responds jokingly, "Well that's the important thing," and immediately puts it on.

Grant's habit of wearing a hat and his devotion to it are not just a fashion choice. For many paleontologists, hats are very significant; Jack Horner wrote about it in his book How to Build a Dinosaur:

"I can't say hats are as precious to paleontologists as they are to Texans, but they can be something of a signature, or talisman... Excavations are never, ever done in the shade. Where there is erosion and exposure, there is inevitable sun, and a hat, which is absolutely necessary, can gather memories and significance."[2]

In Jurassic World: Dominion, Grant loses his hat while he tries to find a way out of the Amber Mines. Though he tried to retrieve it, a Dimetrodon snapped at him, making Grant leave it behind.

Alan Grant's book[]

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Tim's book in the movies

In the various canons of the Jurassic Park Series, Alan Grant writes a number of books.

The Lost World of the Dinosaurs[]

It is clear from the novel Jurassic Park that Dr. Grant argues that dinosaurs evolved into birds. Tim Murphy reads it and agrees with Grant, stating he had "Dinosaurs on the brain".

Dinosaur Detectives[]

Essentially the film's depiction of The Lost World of the Dinosaurs. The film states that it was fully illustrated and was not as big as Robert Bakker's book. Tim carries a copy of the book around on his trip to Isla Nublar. The book was written by Alan Grant and Michael Backes (Backes was a friend and an occasional collaborator with author Michael Crichton. Backes served as the Display Graphics Supervisor on the movie. In the novel, Michael Crichton also included Backes' name as Chief Programmer of Jurassic Park.). The book also had a foreword by the Lord Richard Attenborough, the actor who portrayed John Hammond.

In Jurassic Park Adventures: Survivor, a couple of quotes from the book appear:

When (the sauropods) ate North America empty, to traveled south to South America until that was empty. They just ate themselves out of existence.

Many scientists believe the dinosaurs never really died out 65 million years ago. These scientists believe dinosaurs live on today - as birds. The dinosaurs were too large and their food supply is too small, so the dinosaurs became a likely example of natural selection - in short, they were forced to adapt or perish.

Book about Jurassic Park[]

In Jurassic Park III, Eric mentions a book that Alan Grant wrote about the Isla Nublar Incident. Eric sensed from this book that Alan somewhat disliked dinosaurs after the incident.[3]

Pteranodon book[]

At the end of Jurassic Park Adventures: Flyers, Alan Grants says he's planning to write a book about Pteranodons and their attack of Universal Studios.

Merchandise[]

The following objects based on Alan Grant appear in the Jurassic Park merchandise:

An I.D. pass contains Dr. Grant's signature.

JP ID card grant

Dr. Alan Grant I.D. Pass

incomplete list

Gallery[]

Wiki
Jurassic Park Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Alan Grant.

Trivia[]

  • Alan Grant is based on Jack Horner, a real-life paleontologist who helped the movie crew to create dinosaurs on-screen based on accurate real world facts and discoveries.
  • Grant's quote "Nobody... move... a muscle" has gained significant fame through the years, being reused or referenced in different forms of media, including the 2009 film Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and the 2011 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
  • Contrary to the father-like figure in the Jurassic Park novel, Grant dislikes children at first in the film.
  • Grant's favorite dinosaur growing up was the Triceratops.
  • When asked about Alan Grant's whereabouts in a 2016 interview, Sam Neill speculated that Alan Grant might be dead.[4]
  • Although Grant is amazed by seeing the dinosaurs recreated by InGen/Biosyn, he states that paleontology is real science and the truth is in the fossils,[5] and that the recreated dinosaurs are "theme park monsters."
  • In the Novel, Grant tells the kids he had a wife who died years prior to the novel. This is never mentioned in any of the movies or comics, though he is notably disgusted by Ian Malcolm's flippant attitude toward marriage, even giving him a dirty look when he remarks that he is "Always on the lookout for future ex-Mrs. Malcolm."
  • Harrison Ford was offered and turned down the role of Alan Grant before Sam Neill was cast three to four weeks before filming began.
  • Kurt Russell turned down the role of Grant due to salary demands.
  • William Hurt was offered the role of Grant, but turned it down without reading the script or the book.
  • Dennis Quaid, Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson, and Robin Williams were all considered for the role of Alan Grant.
  • Early in the development of JPIII, Spielberg initially devised a story involving Dr. Alan Grant, who was discovered to have been living on one of InGen's islands. However, this was scrapped as director Joe Johnston said he "couldn't imagine this guy wanting to get back on any island that had dinosaurs in it after the first movie."[6]
  • In an early script of JPIII written by Buchman, Grant would go on a sightseeing flight over Isla Sorna with wealthy businessman Paul Roby, his son Miles and girlfriend Susan. In the end of this script, the U.S. government sends in fighter jets to bomb the island and destroy its dinosaur population. In the process, Paul Roby is spotted by a pilot and he and his family are rescued from the island. However, Grant refuses to leave and, in his final scene, retreats into the jungle, incorporating Spielberg's initial idea.[7]

Relationships[]


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Ellie Sattler[]

In Jurassic Park, Grant and Sattler are in a romantic relationship, but in Jurassic Park III, it is revealed that Sattler is married to a State Department Official called Mark Degler. In Jurassic World: Dominion, Sattler states that she and Mark had broken up, and towards the end of the movie, Sattler and Grant resume their relationship.

Ian Malcolm[]

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Lex Murphy[]

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Tim Murphy[]

In Jurassic Park, the grandson of John Hammond, Tim, looks up to Grant as a role model, although Grant does not show the same respect back, trying to avoid Tim altogether. This was most likely triggered by Grant's dislike for children. As the movie progresses, Grant's hate for Tim fades as their lives are put at risk after all hell breaks loose on the island.

Billy Brennan[]

A young associate professor in paleontology, Brennan is the site manager for Grant's new dig site at Fort Peck Lake, Montana in Jurassic Park III. He is also a paleontology colleague and apparent protégé to Grant. Grant becomes angry at Billy for the act of stealing Velociraptor eggs on Isla Sorna, although Billy is forgiven after he almost loses his life to save Eric Kirby from a group of Pteranodon in the Isla Sorna Aviary.

Paul Kirby[]

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Amanda Kirby[]

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Eric Kirby[]

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Owen Grady[]

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Claire Dearing[]

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Maisie Lockwood[]

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Ramsay Cole[]

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Quotes[]

Wiki
Jurassic Park Wiki has a collection of quotations related to Alan Grant.

External Links[]

References[]

  1. Jurassic Park script, scene 5.
  2. How to build a dinosaur (the new science of reverse evolution), Jack Horner & James Gorman, pg. 122.
  3. Jurassic Park III script, 69E INT. INSIDE THE BUNKER.
  4. "Sam Neill Speculates on the Whereabouts of Dr. Alan Grant During 'Jurassic World'". September 26, 2016. Yahoo!.
  5. Jurassic World: Dominion
  6. "Johnston on Underwater Dinos, Spielberg's JP3 Idea". June 10, 2001. Dan's JPIII page.
  7. Mottram, James (2021). Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History. Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1-68383-545-5.

Navigation[]

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