Directed by Guy Hamilton (famous for Goldfinger), the World War II action film was shot on location in what was then Yugoslavia (specifically parts of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina). Production took place during a harsh, freezing winter. The cast and crew faced bitter cold, deep mud, and frequent logistical delays in remote mountainous regions.

Ford was incredibly frustrated by the constant script rewrites. He later admitted that he accepted the role of Lt. Col. Mike Barnsby largely because he needed a job and wanted to see if his Star Wars fame was a fluke, but arrived on set to find a screenplay that wasn’t ready. He spent a significant amount of energy trying to make his character’s dialogue and motivations make sense on the fly.

Ford has been famously candid about his dissatisfaction with his own performance and the movie as a whole. Decades later, he reflected on the shoot with his trademark bluntness: “It wasn’t a bad film. There were honest people involved making an honest effort. But I didn’t know what I was doing. I was a leading man, but there was nothing for me to lead. There was no character to play. I just had to try and project a strength that I didn’t feel.” He felt the film relied too heavily on spectacle and action set-pieces, like the climactic destruction of the Đurđevića Tara Bridge, rather than strong character development.

Despite the difficult shoot, Ford bonded with his co-stars. He shared the screen with Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, and Carl Weathers. Because Shaw was notoriously competitive and Fox brought a highly disciplined, classical British acting style to the set, Ford had to carve out his own space as the rugged, understated American counterweight.

While the movie ultimately underperformed at the box office and was panned by critics, it served as a massive learning experience for Ford. It taught him how to navigate chaotic, big-budget studio sets, a skill that would serve him perfectly just a few years later when he teamed up with Steven Spielberg for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Steven Spielberg an official statement via Variety, stating, “I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him… Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.” His Peaky Blinders rival Cillian Murphy called him “one of the kindest, funniest and gentlest people, and one of the finest actors.” Revering him as a lifelong friend, Nicole Kidman noted that he took her under his wing when she was just 18 years old. The New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hailed him as “one of the greats” who took New Zealand stories to the global stage.

Sam Neill brought a grounded intellect, a sense of awe, and a relatable grumpiness to the set of Jurassic Park (1993) as Dr. Alan Grant. Though director Steven Spielberg originally envisioned Hollywood icons like Harrison Ford for the role, Neill stepped into the boots of the cynical paleontologist just weeks before filming began. Behind the scenes, his experience on set was defined by major technical shifts, literal battle scars, and a confusing request regarding his voice.

Filming the movie required Neill to pioneers new methods of visual effects acting. To give the cast a cue before computer graphics (CGI) were added, Spielberg would yell like a dinosaur through a megaphone, which often made Neill and the cast burst out laughing. Neill heavily credited special effects master Stan Winston’s practical, life-sized animatronic dinosaurs for elevating his performance, noting that having tangible creatures on set grounded his fear and wonder.

Spielberg intentionally adjusted the character of Grant to dislike children at the start of the movie to create dramatic tension. He later reflected that this was a huge stretch for Neill, who was a deeply loving, gentle father in real life and completely opposite to the grumpy paleontologist he brought to the screen.