Pratt connected with more 'real' dinosaurs in Jurassic World sequel

US actor Chris Pratt was all smiles when we met him at our roundtable interview at The Peninsula Shanghai.

And his beams grew even bigger when this reporter passed him a custom-made action figure of himself as Owen Grady, the dinosaur trainer in the Jurassic World movies.

Pratt reprises his role in the sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which opens here tomorrow.

Staring at his own likeness in plastic, the 38-year-old exclaimed: "This is so cool."

He carefully examined the 15cm-tall figurine, taking in all the little details, like the knife sheathed at its back and the rifle slung over the shoulder.

Pratt clearly appreciates details and realism.

That was how he approached the animatronic dinosaurs used in Fallen Kingdom, which sees Owen and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mounting a campaign to rescue the dinosaurs on the island of Isla Nublar from an extinction-level event.

By letting him handle and touch "real" dinosaurs, Pratt said, the animatronics helped his performance greatly.

In 2015's Jurassic World, there was only one animatronic dinosaur, the apatosaurus, while the others were rendered through computer-generated imagery (CGI).

But in Fallen Kingdom, there are five animatronic dinosaurs, including Blue, the velociraptor which Owen has trained since its birth in the park, the tyrannosaurus rex and the fearsome new hybrid, the indoraptor.

REAL

He said: "It is important to act with something that is real and that is there, especially with what we are trying to accomplish in showing the relationship between man and beast.

"It is not just fear and wonderment, but there is an emotional connection there."

He added: "To be acting, physically feeling, seeing, responding to these giant beautiful dinosaurs was amazing."

The robotic dinosaurs are operated by puppeteers.

In Blue's case, there were up to 12 puppeteers helping the dinosaur move.

US actress Howard, 37, added in the joint interview: "It is not a rehearsed performance where it is predictable. Chris could come up with a moment that is totally fresh and unique and the raptor can respond to it. There is nothing better than that."

There is an intimate moment between Owen and Blue that was improvised, and the use of animatronics helped show their relationship.

Said Pratt: "There is a moment where she looks up at me and I calm her down a little bit. That scene wasn't written that way, but we came up with it in the moment."

Howard explained: "The relationship has evolved from the last movie, from a trainer-animal dynamic to something that is more familial.

"There is empathy and understanding that these animals have a higher intellect than (the) characters have been giving them credit for."

Pratt added: "Owen loves Blue like a child."

Spanish director J.A. Bayona said the animatronic dinosaurs were also a huge plus for the team doing post-production.

The 43-year-old told TNP in a separate interview: "I always try to use as much real stuff as possible. In (the 2012 disaster drama) The Impossible, we created the tsunami with real water, though it was a challenge.

"In this case, I said from the beginning that I wanted more animatronics to tell us about the connection between man and dinosaur.

"To have that, I needed to have the actor touching the actual dinosaur on set. It also helps later when the guys doing post-production can copy the traits of the 'real' dinosaur, like the texture of its skin."

Even without animatronics, Pratt said it is important to have someone to perform with.

He said: "In the absence of an animatronic, you would substitute it with someone with whom you can connect. It can be an actor standing off screen, for example. It is nearly impossible to do it with a tennis ball, an LED light or a piece of tape."

Another highlight for Pratt was being in the same film as Jeff Goldblum, 65, who appears in a few scenes in Fallen Kingdom.

He reprises his role as mathematician Ian Malcolm, who was in the original 1993 Jurassic Park and its 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

While Pratt did not share scenes with Goldblum, he said the veteran US actor was on set to support them. The pair also spent time together promoting Fallen Kingdom in London.

He said with a laugh: "Goldblum has got a dizzying, hypnotising personality. No matter man, woman or beast, if you're around him, you are seduced and drawn in. He is also so thoughtful and kind. His gestures and voice just soothe you."

Pratt would even like to have a "Jeff Goldblum channel" on his phone.

He quipped: "If I get stressed I could tune in to this channel. I guess I could just call him, but I know he is busy."