You can find Jeff Goldblum, the actor, in projects like Search Party and the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion. You can Jeff Goldblum impersonators pretty much everywhere these days, since one of Hollywood’s most idiosyncratic performers has led pretty much everyone with a working television to believe that they can match Goldblum’s unique style which might be best summed up as “jittery gracefulness.” Few actors are better at truly making you believe they’re coming up with their lines on the fly, with his vast array of verbal tics, pauses and “uhhhs” suggesting a rich interiority instead of memorization.
It’s a treat to watch him work. But is it a treat to watch other actors try and do what he does? You be the judge of that. But is it a treat to watch him watch other actors try and do what he does and critique their performance? We may be getting a little too close to the singularity for comfort here but the answer is yes.
David Duchovny and Bryan Cranston, both gifted actors on their own right, do their darndest — but watching them next to the genuine article shows that it’s not as easy as it looks. A few of the Instagram impressions might fair a little better. Watching Goldblum himself shows that it’s not much of act. He really does wield his hands like two streamers, waving them hither and yon with as much grace as any ballet dancer.
Anyway, like we said, this gets so meta that it’s hard to avoid the question of the singularity. Our scientists were so busy figuring out if they uhhhh could that that that that that they never stopped to ask if they hmmm, ahhh, should.