Bryce Dallas Howard On The JURASSIC WORLD Sequel, Working With Colin Trevorrow, & The High Heels Dilemma
Remember at the end of Jurassic World when Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) unlocked the T-rex, and proceeded to run from it in high heels? Well, if you do, Bryce Dallas Howard spoke on that, and gave a pretty good explanation for the situation! Check out her thoughts on that and more...
Bryce Dallas Howard during a lengthy interview with Cosmopolitan, discussed many things regarding Jurassic World, working with Chris Pratt and director Colin Trevorrow, and the whole sequence in the action-packed film that saw her character outrun a T-Rex in high heels!
Before we get to her thoughts on the heels, she first talked about how she’s satisfied with the opportunities women have today in the movie world. “I have to say, I feel really relieved at the amount of sensitivity that people have to women and women's roles in films, particularly large films. Even though ultimately what you see in the movie — you realize I wasn't just a function of the plot, or Chris's sidekick or whatever; she is actually the character that goes through the biggest transformation.” She then adds that she was thrilled with the people who wanted to see a strong female character in the film. “I did appreciate the fact that people wanted to ensure that it's important for there to be female characters and roles where they do go on a journey and they aren't just a function of the plot. And so that's something that is a really important conversation to continue.”
Shortly after that, she gave her thoughts on the Jurassic World sequel and revealed how she found out about the project. “When I found out there was going to be a sequel and that I was going to be in it, the way that I found out was that Colin texted me "#NoHeels2018." [Laughs.] And I was like, ‘Yeah!’” She then continued, “[My character] Claire knows to get in there now and her dynamic with the animals has certainly shifted and the woman you see at the end of Jurassic World is very different from the woman see you at the beginning.”
When Jurassic World 2 hits theaters in 2018, I’m sure Howard’s character Claire will be involved in many more action scenes that will involve a load of big, dangerous dinosaurs! Even though that’s my guess, Bryce revealed that she was among the first to be cast in the film, and that Colin said to her that she was the lead character in the summer blockbuster. “Colin, when he originally pitched the movie to me — I was the first actor he hired, months before anyone else had been hired — he said to me, "You are the lead of the movie." I was like, "Haha. Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it." He kept saying it, and then when I read the script, I thought, He actually did this." She then added, “It's always been his intention from the get-go, to tell the story with a female character central to [it] and also she's a flawed character. I love that she's not some perfect angel who doesn't need to change and who always said the right thing.”
Here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for! What is Bryce Dallas Howard’s explanation for her character outrunning a T-Rex in high heels? Well, after reading this, it seemed quite obvious why that sequence was added in. “Well, specifically with the heels, this character needed to seem ill-equipped to be in the jungle. She was somebody who looks like she belongs in a corporate environment for a reason, because she was someone who was disconnected from the animals and disconnected from that reality and disconnected from herself.” She then joked, “She doesn't at all expect that she's going to be tromping through the jungle, and I'm really glad that we didn't make the choice for me to be barefoot, because that would have also been kind of dangerous.”
After providing a fair clarification for the scene, she then went on and made clear that Claire was the hero in the film, not Chris Pratt’s "cowering" character Owen. “Oh, and something to mention, the character of Claire in particular, who seems so ill-equipped to be able to thrive in the jungle, gets to the point at the end [where] she is the hero. It's Chris Pratt cowering with two children surrounded by stuffed animals, and my character who ends up saving the day. And that was something that Colin pitched to me before the script was even written. He was like, "In the end of the movie, she is the hero." And you know what? She's in high heels because she's a woman who has been in high heels her whole life and she can [frick]ing sprint in them. She can. That's kind of how I perceived it. She doesn't have to be in menswear and flats in order to outrun a T. Rex. That's what women can do."
What do you think? Jurassic World 2 hit theaters June 22, 2018!