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Dr. Alan Grant is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. He is a paleontologist and is introduced in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, which began the franchise. Crichton based Grant on the paleontologist Jack Horner. Director Steven Spielberg helmed the 1993 film adaptation, and several actors were considered for the role of Grant. It ultimately went to Sam Neill, becoming one of his most popular roles. Spielberg gave the character a dislike of children, and put him in a relationship with Dr. Ellie Sattler, a paleobotanist who is Grant's student in the novel. Sattler, portrayed by Laura Dern, wants to start a family with Grant, who is resistant to the idea.
Neill reprised the character in 2001's Jurassic Park III, which also saw a cameo by Dern. In the film, Sattler has married someone else and started a family, although she and Grant remain friends. Director Joe Johnston chose to break-up Grant and Sattler, believing that Dern looked too young to be in such a relationship; Neill is 20 years older than her. Neill was dissatisfied with his performance in the first film, which factored into his return for Jurassic Park III, marking the first time he reprised one of his roles.
Neill and Dern would return again for major roles in Jurassic World Dominion, released in 2022. In the film, Sattler has divorced her husband; she and Grant eventually rekindle their romantic relationship. Colin Trevorrow, the film's director and co-writer, was in agreement with Neill and Dern on reuniting their characters romantically.
Neill and Dern also reprised their roles for the video games Jurassic World Evolution and Jurassic World Evolution 2, lending their voices to downloadable content packs released in 2019 and 2022 respectively.
Fictional background[]
Dr. Alan Grant is a paleontologist who is dedicated to his research, which includes a focus on velociraptors. He believes that dinosaurs are closely related to birds, and also theorizes that the vision of a Tyrannosaurus is based on movement. Grant has written several books on dinosaurs, as referenced in the first novel. He has also written at least two in the film series. In Jurassic Park III, Eric Kirby opines that he liked Grant's first book better, as Grant liked dinosaurs when he wrote it, compared to the second written after his time at Jurassic Park. Grant has a dislike of computers, and is portrayed in the film series as easily irritated.
Novels[]
Jurassic Park[]
In the first novel, Grant is described as "a barrel-chested, bearded man of forty". He had a wife who died years prior to the events of the novel. He has a strong affinity for children, especially those interested in dinosaurs. He is one of the world's most renowned paleontologists, partly specializing in hadrosaur and other duck-billed dinosaurs such as Maiasaura. Dr. Ellie Sattler is a graduate student and paleobotanist who is studying under Grant.
Before the events of the novel, Grant was approached by Donald Gennaro, chief counsel for InGen, to provide information on the requirements for the care of infant dinosaurs, claiming it to be for a museum exhibit. Later, John Hammond's investors demand that he bring experts to his island, Isla Nublar, to certify the safety of a new theme park he is building there called Jurassic Park. Grant and Sattler agree to Hammond's invitation to tour the park, finding it difficult to turn down the request from a major financial donor. They are joined by Dr. Ian Malcolm, and are awestruck to learn that Hammond has cloned living dinosaurs.
When the creatures escape, Grant becomes stranded in the park with Hammond's grandchildren, Lex and Tim. Throughout a large portion of the book, Grant and the children explore the park trying to find their way back to the rest of the group.
Grant does not appear in Michael Crichton's sequel novel, The Lost World, but he is mentioned several times, including an instance stating that he is lecturing in Paris.
Films[]
Jurassic Park[]
The film adaptation of Jurassic Park generally uses the same story and characters as the novel, though with some differences. For example, Grant is given an introverted personality and a dislike of children. The film also depicts him in a relationship with Ellie Sattler, as opposed to her being his graduate student. She wants to have a child, but Grant is resistant to the idea of starting a family. However, over the course of the film, he warms up to Hammond's grandchildren and protects them. Malcolm flirts with Sattler on several occasions, to the annoyance of Grant.
Jurassic Park III[]
In Jurassic Park III, Grant and Ellie are shown to have ended their relationship some time after the first film, although they remain close friends. Ellie has a minor role, and is now married to Mark, an employee of the U.S. State Department. They have two young children. In the years following the incident on Isla Nublar, Grant has continued his research on fossils, but he struggles to secure financing now that living dinosaurs are known to exist on InGen's Isla Sorna. He dismisses the notion that his research is moot, saying that InGen's creatures are just "genetically engineered theme park monsters" and not real dinosaurs. Grant has proposed new theories regarding raptor intelligence, which he discusses with Ellie while visiting her. He believes that raptors were incredibly smart and possessed advanced communication abilities. Despite this, since the Jurassic Park disaster, Grant has developed an intense fear against raptors.
Later in the film, Grant reluctantly agrees to provide an aerial tour of Isla Sorna for the Kirbys, an allegedly wealthy couple who agree to fund his dig site in exchange. Grant and the Kirbys fly to Isla Sorna along with mercenaries and Grant's graduate student, Billy Brennan. Grant is amazed when they reach the island, having forgotten what it is like to see living dinosaurs. However, the plane crashes and the group become stranded on the island. Grant learns that the Kirbys are a divorced middle-class couple searching for their 12-year-old son, Eric, who went missing eight weeks earlier while parasailing near the island. The Kirbys brought Grant for his expertise, hoping it would come in handy during their search. Eric is later found, and he and Grant bond while navigating Isla Sorna. Grant also realizes that his theories about raptors are correct. He and the other survivors eventually find a satellite phone, which he uses to contact Ellie for help. They are later rescued by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
Jurassic World Dominion[]
Grant, now an older man with no family, has continued his work in paleontology. His digs have not been receiving sufficient fundings due to de-extinct dinosaurs spreading all over the world. This forces Alan to turn them as tourist attractions to stay afloat and to promote the importance of paleontology is to learn what life was like before humans became dominant species. Ellie and Mark have separated, and their children are in college. Now working as a soil scientist, she launches an investigation when giant locusts emerge and begin rapidly consuming crops, threatening the world's food supply. Ellie learns that the insects are bypassing crops which use Biosyn's seeds, leading her to suspect that the company has engineered the insects to boost its own profits.
Grant and Ellie have not seen each other for some time. She visits him at his dig site in Utah and convinces him to accompany her to Biosyn's headquarters in Italy, to look for incriminating evidence. They receive help from Malcolm, who now works for the company as an in-house philosopher. While at Biosyn, Grant and Ellie meet Maisie Lockwood and her adoptive parents, Owen Grady and Claire Dearing. Biosyn is eventually brought down. Grant and Ellie rekindle their romance, and prepare to testify about Biosyn in Washington, D.C.