Jeff Goldblum emotionally reacts to his and Judd Hirsch’sIndependence Dayfarewell scene 28 years later with newfound insight as a father. InRoland Emmerich’s 1996 sci-fi action movie, Goldblum played satellite engineer David Levinson, who is swept up in an extraterrestrial invasion. Levinson would be part of a two-man infiltration mission to bring down the mothership with a computer virus by disrupting their protective shields, opening the vessel up for a large counterattack.
While promoting his Netflix showKAOS, the actor sat down withVanity Fairto rewatch some of his most iconic roles throughout his career.
As Goldblum rewatched the farewell between David and his father Julius beforetheIndependence Dayending, Goldblum found himself overwhelmed as he viewed the 28-year-old scene with a new perspective as a father, before celebrating co-star Hirsch for his previous emotional scenes and cinema’s power to move audiences. Check out Goldblum’s full recollection below:
How sweet. Wow. Now having kids myself, I got a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old. I can’t imagine what it’s like if they took a risk as radical as that seemed to be, and have to possibly say goodbye to them for the last time. It would be excruciating! Excruciating! And I’ll bet - I don’t know the whole backstory, but I’ll bet we’ve had a good relationship. As you know we’re friends, in the movie we play chess all the time, and he cares about me obviously, and I care about him. Gee, I can imagine that being real - what a great dad he is. I’ve known him for a long time, but I love him to pieces, and it’s a sweet moment, and boy you really got me, I don’t know what you do. Why’d you do it to me?
Judd Hirsch, you know - I’ll bet at this point, when did Ordinary People come out? I’d seen him in many things, including Ordinary People, and talk about a cry fest. You see how easy I am and mushy I can be - Judd Hirsch’s character, the Doctor, the therapist helps - They need the office, and he’s hysterical, and he has a kind of an epiphany, and he cries and stuff. And then, Tim Hutton, he says, “Are you my friend?”, and Judd Hirsch says “Count on it,” and they hug. It’s just very, very moving. I feel, you know, it’s fun to go to movies that make you cry. And I show movies to my kids, and they see me “Booohooohoo,” and they go, “Da-da,what’s the matter?” You know? I go, “It’s so sad!” So, you know, so I’ll bet a little of that was working on me as I was pretending that he was my father.
Independence Day’s Family Drama Is An Underappreciated Asset
Emmerich’s Family Dynamic Gives The Movie Greater Emotional Weight
While a large draw ofIndependence Day’s lasting appeal is its special effects and bombastic action, the movie wears its heart on its sleeve through its characters. Though its cast consisted of recognizable archetypes that earned some criticism, each of its three leads - Levinson, Captain Hiller (Will Smith), and President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) - have their family lives fleshed out, giving these characters something to defend amid the world’s potential end. Viewers watch these families fight against all odds to reunite, making their happy ending worthwhile.
With the movie’s ambition to become a wider franchise, the simpler but earnest character dynamics were overlooked.
Arguably, this is also why any attempts at expanding the franchise failed, as despite many original cast members reuniting for the 2016 sequelIndependence Day: Resurgence, the movie had a larger focus on a complex plot, while certain returning stars played a reduced role, or were cut out entirely. Smith’s Hiller and Margaret Colin’s Constance Spano were unceremoniously killed off-screen between movies, while Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox) shared only a few scenes with her son, Dylan (Jessie T. Usher), before her demise. WithIndependence Day’s ambition to become a wider franchise, the simpler but earnest character dynamics were overlooked.
WhileIndependence Dayhas a strong status as an enjoyable movie, many may be surprised to see Goldblum have such a powerful reaction, as that is not what people typically associate with the movie. Though he admits that he is an emotional watcher, his explanation is a wonderful exploration of how characters, no matter how recognizable and clear-cut, can still have a powerful effect on viewers. With this new perspective, many will have a greater appreciation of the movie going forward.
Independence Day
Cast
Roland Emmerich’s iconic 1996 sci-fi disaster movie Independence Day chronicles the attack of a hostile race of aliens against planet Earth. When extraterrestrial aircraft occupy Earth without warning, the forces of humanity quickly band together to stop them. At the behest of President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), US Marine pilot Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) and satellite engineer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) organize humanity’s last-ditch counterattack against the technologically-advanced alien mothership.
