Vanessa Lee Chester is an American actress who portrayed Kelly Malcolm in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Lee Chester and Jurassic Park
Vanessa with raptor
Summary
In her interview Vanessa talked about her memories while filming The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and she described being on the soundstage, seeing the dinosaurs especially the Tyrannosaurus rex head. Vanessa said that her favorite dinosaur to work with was the Velociraptor, and if she could be a dinosaur that would be it.
The first time she met Steven Spielberg he was very impressed with her acting skills and later he offered a role in the upcoming sequel to Jurassic Park, she was very excited to meet Jeff Goldblum and do a reading with him. She thought Jeff Goldblum was Sam Neil, because she had no idea who Jeff was and during their read he acted as if he were a Velociraptor and she had to run around and act as if she was scared. This audition was a complete success and she got the role. Vanessa described an incredible feeling working with such talented, experienced actors like Julianne Moore as well as the scenes where she worked with the giant head of the Tyrannosaur. Vanessa begged to do all of her own stunts; which she did except the gymnastics scene, she was also the only character in all three movies to kill a dinosaur on screen...and it was her favorite dinosaur. This action earned her a lot of "Brownie Points" with movie fans. Vanessa says that she learned a lot from the three main lead actors: Jeff, Julianne, and Vince, and that working with Jeff was a great experience for her, and that getting to know him off set was good since they were playing father and daughter, and he wanted her to be comfortable.
Vanessa says that the aftermath of the movie after it came out was huge: grossing over $92 million when it first came out in theaters, and she felt very grateful to have been apart of such a huge thing. This movie has been a huge part of her life; she owns the action figure that was made from her character which included the trailers too. Over 10 years after she made the film she still talks about it with such passion as an experience she won't ever forget. Vanessa also admitted that she has not read the novel.
Selected filmography
- The Costume Shop (2014) (post-production) .... Young Janie
- Welcome to Sanditon (2013) (TV) .... Letitia Griffiths
- Reconstruction (2009)(TV Movie) .... Eleanor
- 17 Again (2009) .... Cheerleader
- Extreme Movie (2008) .... Charlotte
- The Shift (2006) .... Daughter
- Stepsister from the Planet Weird (2000) (TV) .... Michelle
- She's All That (1999) .... Melissa's Friend
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) .... Kelly Curtis Malcolm
- Harriet the Spy (1996) .... Janie Gibbs
- A Little Princess (1995) .... Becky
- CB4 (1993) .... Talona
Trivia
For her portrayal of Kelly Malcolm, she was nominated for both a Saturn Award (Best performance by a younger actress) and an Image Award (outstanding youth actress).
Template:JPII Actors