Jonathan Bailey has revealed he played a clarinet solo on the soundtrack for his new film Jurassic World Rebirth.
The actor, who plays palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis in the film, appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and discussed his contribution to the score.
The actor recalled that, while appearing in a theatre production of Richard II in London’s West End, director Gareth Edwards informed him that Alexandre Desplat’s score was being recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Bailey visited to watch the orchestra and said he “got goosebumps” watching the performance.
“As the week progressed,” he continued, “I came back and I was like, ‘Can I bring my clarinet?’ I played the clarinet in school — I told you it was a nerdy story — and on the Friday, they said, ‘Look, you can come’”.
Initially hoping to play just one note, he was given the opportunity to play a whole solo. “I just went, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ And I ended up playing the theme of Dr. Henry Loomis, the character I play in a Jurassic film, on the clarinet, which is in the score”.
The actor, whose credits include Bridgerton and Wicked, beamed: “This really was the highlight of my career. The nerd in me erupted like Vesuvius”.
The film’s official YouTube account also released a video of Bailey joining the orchestra, and shows the scene in the film which corresponds to his solo. Described as a “beautiful moment” by Desplat, Bailey’s character Loomis is seen touching a wild dinosaur for the first time.
Released July 2 in the UK, Jurassic World Rebirth’s first critical reactions praised the “majestic” new film as “a perfect entry into the franchise”. In March, Jonathan Bailey’s co-star Scarlett Johansson revealed she refused to join Instagram to promote the film, having previously said she felt too “fragile” to use the platform.