Bryce Dallas Howard says she “couldn’t help but feel terrified” while being chased by animatronic dinosaurs during the shooting of Jurassic World: Dominion.
The actress, who stars with Chris Pratt in the final installment of the prehistoric franchise, said working with the “giant robots” was a completely different experience to working with computer-generated monsters.
Howard and Pratt are joined by characters from the original Jurassic Park films, played by Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum.
The actress told the PA news agency that it was “extraordinary” to be in the presence of the giant puppets, which were often operated by dozens of people.
“When you’re working with an animatronic it’s a completely different experience than when you’re, say, responding based off of a tennis ball that’s like totally inert in space, and you’re needing to pretend that it’s chasing you,” she said.
“An animatronic is basically a giant robot that’s puppeteered by dozens of people.
“It’s extraordinary to be in the midst of one of these creatures because you’re looking at it and your brain is like ‘that’s a real dinosaur’ – you can’t help but be terrified.”
Pratt, who has also worked with CGI in other projects including Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, said he employed various techniques in order to create a “real relationship” with computer-generated co-stars.
His character, trainer Owen Grady, works closely with velociraptor matriarch Blue throughout the trilogy.
“In order to sell these stories and really make it work you have to pull that off,” he told PA.
“The trick is really just creating a real relationship, and you can do that through various techniques (like) working opposite actors.
“If there are a few cameras here and I’m looking at Blue, I might be looking at an actor in the eye so that there can be a connection. You’re not just acting but reacting to performance.”
Both actors acknowledged that leaving their characters behind as the series came to a close was “part of show business” but they would always “cherish” the memories and relationships created on set.
“The relationships don’t go away, which is wonderful,” said Howard.
“And so we always get to celebrate being a part of this… I don’t take for granted at all the fact that there was a third Jurassic (World) that we were able to reunite with the legacy cast
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“This is an incredible experience that I know, I’ll always cherish.”
Pratt added: “When (filming) comes to a close the love will always remain there.
“The frequency with which you might see one another, it might be that I never see some of them again, it might be that I see them a whole bunch, you just don’t really know.
“Sometimes when the circus leaves town, there’s relationships that will always be strong where you might not see them.
“But whenever I do see Bryce again, or Sam again, or Jeff or Laura again, we pick up right where we left off.
“That’s what happens with best friends.”