It is a simple fact that Jeff Goldblum is a certain kind of wonderful.
For over four decades, the Emmy- and Academy Award-nominated movie star and musician, Jeff Goldblum has dotted films and TV shows with standout performances, like in The Big Chill, The Fly, Independence Day and The Grand Budapest Hotel. His wry, comfortably-in-the-corner-of-the-sandbox personality mirrors the traits of some of his most memorable characters, like Dr. Ian Malcolm in the Jurassic Park films and the Grand master in Thor: Ragnarok.
On talk shows, especially when interviewed by Conan O’Brien, Goldblum’s eccentric, mesmerizing spirit is celebrated and on full display. So it only makes sense that someone would create a show that puts Goldblum in various real-world situations with different people. That’s indeed the case with the National Geographic show The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
Goldblum joined CNET’s I’m So Obsessed podcast to discuss season 2 of the show, available to stream now on Disney Plus. In each episode, the show’s producers have Goldblum explore a topic or subject he wants to learn more about, like magic, monsters or dogs.
Calling Jeff Goldblum a curious fellow doesn’t do justice to how the 69-year-old Pittsburgh native operates.
He’s the kind of guy who “will move into your house for a week to find out what your life is all about,” says former Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields.
“When I was a kid, I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll get my name in the paper one of these days,'” Goldblum said less than three years after the last time he was interviewed by the Post-Gazette. “And here I am.”
It’s the kind of insatiable curiosity he also displays in The World According to Jeff Goldblum, his National Geographic-developed television series that returned for its second season this week on Disney+.
Any subject that happens to interest him gets the full Goldblum treatment. His deep dives include why humans love dogs, monsters, dance, and more. His thirst for knowledge and general “gee-whiz” demeanor comes through on his Disney+ show and in an interview. “I still pinch myself,” he said of his almost half-century in Hollywood.
“I can’t believe that I’ve had a miraculous life where I was obsessed with the idea of kind of being an actor one day when I went to Carnegie Mellon University and Chatham [University] day camps. I can’t believe I’ve gotten the chance to do it continually over this period of time.
“My parents, who are no longer here, I imagine would get a big kick out of me introducing the [Pittsburgh] Steelers game. So yeah, it’s kind of thrilling for me!”
The World According to Jeff Goldblum premiered in November 2019 and featured an always spectacularly dressed Goldblum.
The first season’s third episode focuses entirely on tattoos and includes a segment shot at a Pittsburgh tattoo parlor on July 13 – Jeff Goldblum Day as proclaimed by Pittsburgh City Council in 2004.
Answers to his life’s biggest mysteries
Goldblum said he appreciates how National Geographic and Disney give him “a chance to be as free as a bird and have encounters with people that I take left turns with” in his pursuit of answers to (his) life’s biggest mysteries.
He also admires how The World According to Jeff Goldblum’s editing team intersperses photos and videos from his childhood throughout the show’s sophomore season.
“These things show up in the cut and it just kind of takes my breath away, whether it’s my parents dancing together or my brothers and I fooling around when I was a kid,” he said. “I get a big kick out of that … This is the best use of that kind of stuff.
Family
“Families are endlessly interesting to me, my family, and other people’s families. It’s pretty rich material, isn’t it?”
Many of the themes in the first few new episodes of The World According to Jeff Goldblum come directly from things he grew to love during his formative years here.
For example, the monsters episode can be traced back to Saturdays watching the classic horror movie show Chiller Theatre. The magic episode stems from vacations he took with his family to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the dog’s episode is inspired by his childhood poodle, Ginger.
And, in classic Goldblum fashion, the fireworks’ episode came from his longtime love of “gazing at the stars and thinking about the universe and the awe-inspiring things that can change our lives.”
If The World According to Jeff Goldblum isn’t enough, check out Because He’s Jeff Goldblum, Washington Post reporter Travis Andrews’ unauthorized yet comprehensive biography of the actor’s life and career.
Goldblum hasn’t gotten a chance to read it yet, but, as he put it, “I’m going to check myself out” eventually.
“I’m like a goofy weatherman. Sometimes they [the producers] just go, ‘Let’s put him out there and see what kind of mischief we can make,'” explained Goldblum over video chat while wearing a fake reptile/boa constrictor leather bomber jacket. “And I’m out of my comfort zone and ready to play. By doing that, we get a deeper understanding of the extraordinary aspects of ordinary things. Things that we might take for granted that are familiar, that we may love around us.”
Goldblum discussed his jazz band, the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra; Jurassic Park; Wes Anderson; and more. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Goldblum.
On Al Gore
“We should all, we Homo sapiens, listen to his warnings and to his growing knowledge and our growing knowledge about how we can best be stewards of this treasure of a Ming vase of a planet.”
On Jurassic World
“We just did another: Jurassic World Dominion, it’s called. And I’m looking forward to seeing that finished. But we had a great time doing that. I have a special affection because I revisited being inside the shoes and the skin of Dr. Ian Malcolm again. I’m currently full of, I’m pregnant with that once again.”
On Taika Waititi
“I can’t divulge something about this either. But Taika Waititi, I’ve been in touch with him recently. And we have an active creative collaboration. And that melt stick — working with him is just the greatest.
