Bryce Dallas Howard
"Jurassic World" star Bryce Dallas Howard, pictured here at Variety's Power of Women luncheon, shared her thoughts on the movie and her affection for the previous films. Reuters

With “Jurassic World” poised to be the biggest blockbuster of the summer, the cadre of fans that grew up on the original “Jurassic Park” movies are gearing up for the newest thrill ride. Among those devoted fans is “Jurassic World” star Bryce Dallas Howard.

Speaking at an AOL Build discussion to promote the upcoming movie, the 34-year-old Howard revealed that this role is much more than a job to her, it’s a dream come true. She recalled a very vivid memory she has of being a young girl and wanting to see the original dinosaur movie in 1993.

“I saw it opening weekend when it came out. I was 12 and my parents were super strict. It was rated PG-13, so I wasn’t allowed to see it,” she told the crowd. “But my parents went opening night and when he came home, my dad said, ‘This is cinema history, you have to see this film.’ So I saw it opening weekend.”

Since then, Howard says she’s been enamored with the franchise and was thrilled to return to the film industry after having a child in such a big way with “Jurassic World.” She says that the new film lit up the nostalgic part of her brain as there is a reference to the original movies “maybe every third scene.” However, what really excited her about the upcoming dinosaur thrill ride is simply the frights.

“It’s pretty scary. I knew the movie and I’ve read the movie and I shot the movie and I saw it a week and a half ago for the first time and I was freaking out,” the actress said when asked if the film was scarier than the original. “It was pretty scary, but I will never compare anything to ‘Jurassic Park’ ever, because… It’s ‘Jurassic Park.’”

In terms of what fans can expect from the upcoming summer release, she wasn’t able to reveal too much more than the trailers do, which is simply that the newly created Indominus Rex will be wreaking havoc on the theme park and its patrons. She also echoed some of director Colin Trevorrow’s latest statements that the new dinosaur is a metaphor for the public’s appetite.

“I think the biggest difference between ‘Park’ and ‘World’ is that in ‘Jurassic World’ the park is open, whereas in ‘Jurassic Park’ and the subsequent films, it was on the precipice of that,” she said. “It’s 22 years after the original. The park is open and it’s been open for a while and so people aren’t so impressed anymore. This kind of novel thing that was dinosaurs is kind of eh now. So my character, Claire, is charged with the responsibility of keeping the park relevant in order to protect the bottom line – profit.”

You can catch Howard in “Jurassic World” on June 12. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer for the film below:

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