ALAN GRANT (JURASSIC PARK CHARACTER)

'Alan Grant' is a fictional character from the ''Jurassic Park'' series. In the movies he is played by Sam Neill.

Contents

Plot

''Jurassic Park III''

Trivia

Plot

In the ''Jurassic Park'' novel, Grant is described as a barrel-chested, forty-year old palaeontologist. Considering the time of the InGen incident, and the time of the publication of the book, it can be assumed that Grant's birthday is either in the year 1950 or 1949. In the novel, Grant tells Tim Murphy that he is a widower. In the book, it says he helped describe the ''Maiasaura'' with Jack Horner. Actually, Grant is more based on Horner himself - one of the scientific advisors for ''Jurassic Park'' - than on "Bob" Makela (1940-1987), Horner's co-author for ''Maiasaura''.
Grant had uncovered a raptor skeleton in Montana, when he was invited to Jurassic Park, a jungle island where genetically engineered dinosaurs were being made. It was there that he met Tim Murphy, and supposedly becomes good friends with him. He was the one who confirmed the breeding problem in amongst the Jurassic Park othnielians, raptors, hadrosaurs, compies and hypsilophodons.
Later, he was witness to the ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' escaping its enclosure, and subsequently attacking the remainder of the tour group. In the ensuing carnage, he was slightly wounded when the rex kicked him. Shortly following the attack, he managed to locate Hammond's grandchildren, and upon witnessing the death of Ed Regis they attempted to make their way to the hotel. Grant and the children successfully crossed the Tyrannosaurus rex paddock and spend the night in a bunker-like maintenance shed. While searching for something to speed their return to the visitor center, Grant discovered a small inflatable raft, in which to travel down the jungle river. After an initial close call with the Tyrannosaurus rex in the lagoon, they managed to reach the safety of the densely forested jungle river, a trip that eventually culminated in the small group being swept over a waterfall and Tim escaping from the jaws of the Tyrannosaurus rex mere seconds after Muldoon's heavy tranquilizer took effect. Finding a service door behind the waterfall that led to the East Garage, Grant found a small electric car which they used to return to the Visitor Center.
On returning to the Visitor Center, Grant managed to return full electrical power to the park, as well as kill several adult Velociraptors. He then went into the waterworks plant to count the eggs, and was later rescued by the Costa Rican forces, who destroyed Jurassic Park.

''Jurassic Park III''

Grant later gave lectures on the intelligence of raptors, and said nothing could get him to The Five Deaths. He was later tricked into going there by wealthy parents who were supposedly taking an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, when they were actually searching for their son. He encounters a Spinosaurus, and saw just how intelligent raptors really were. He was rescued when his old friend and former colleague Ellie Sattler alerted the Navy and the Marines.

Trivia

★ In the film, Grant hates kids at first, contrary to the father-like figure in the novel.

★ Grant is based on Jack Horner, a real-life palaeontologist.

★ In the films, he is hardly ever seen without a cowboy hat, although he tends to lose them.