EXCLUSIVE: Ty Simpkins Talks Jurassic World

By: Lynn Barker

Cute Ty Simpkins (he’ll be 14 in August) who was the “kid” alongside Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3, has loved dinosaurs since age three so getting cast as Gray, one of two brothers exploring a “real” dino park in Jurassic World, was a total dreamscape! The young actor did stunts, rode in a working Gyrosphere (that “bubble” device you see in the trailers) and did some brotherly bonding with co-star Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer and upcoming book adaptation of The Fifth Wave).

Ty told us about roles coming up and ones he’d like to play and some life advice he got from cool co-star Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star Lord). Oh, and if you are going to go out with him, don’t chew with your mouth open!

Kidzworld: Tell me something funny or weird that happened to you, or around you during the shoot.

• Ty: Me and Nick (Robinson) were joking around and I took a water bottle cap and twisted it on his arm real fast. Then, he took it from me and did it really slow. I still have a scar from it.

Kidzworld: You two play brothers and that sounds like a real brother prank. Did you guys feel like you were brothers after a while?

• Ty: Yeah, we did. We like the same music. We both like classic rock like the Stones. We both play the ukulele and like to surf. We learned how to surf together while shooting the movie in Hawaii.

Kidzworld: Nice! Are you into any other music yourself?

• Ty: I like Fall Out Boys and there’s a rapper named Watsky that’s really good.

Kidzworld: Did you and Nick have time to hang out a lot off set?

• Ty: Yeah, the first island we were on in Hawaii we only worked for eight days so we got to go surfing, boogie boarding, swimming, eating.

Kidzworld: You were little when the first Jurassic Park came out but did you go watch all the movies on video when you got the part in this one?

• Ty: Yeah, I watched them like every day all the time before I got the role and after. I’ve loved dinosaurs since I was teeny tiny.  

Kidzworld: If there really was a Jurassic World, would you want to go see it? And would you be as crazy impressed as your character Gray is?

• Ty: Yeah. I would like it either way (whether dinosaurs were escaping or not).

Kidzworld: If you could create a dinosaur or an attraction for Jurassic World, what would it be?

• Ty: I would probably add some kind of underground place with one way glass where you could see a carnivore from below.

Kidzworld: Cool. You have some scenes with Bryce (Dallas Howard) and Chris (Pratt). Were they fun to work with?

• Ty: I had a lot of scenes with them and they’re great. They’re like big kids but they’re very professional.

Kidzworld: Did you do your own stunt work in the film? Gray takes a tumble a few times.

• Ty: Yeah. I did some of my stunts which were really fun. There was one where we got hung from a tree and they had to drop us down on a pad. We had to wear a harness but we didn’t really jump off the waterfall.

Kidzworld: When you are a grown up actor, what kinds of roles would you want to play?

• Ty: I’d want to be in action movies like Chris Pratt maybe.

Kidzworld: Do you shoot videos with your friends at home or would you want to write a movie.

• Ty: I don’t shoot them but it would be fun to write a movie. Getting good ideas is the hard part.

Kidzworld: What do you actually picture in your head when pretending to be threatened by a dinosaur?

• Ty: I’m think that there’s really a dinosaur out there and if I don’t run really fast I’m gonna die! (But, the actors are really looking at) a huge metal pole with a lightbulb on top.

Kidzworld: So you need a great imagination. What was your favorite, most fun scene to shoot?

• Ty: Probably the Gyrosphere sequence. That was really fun. We were really in the Gyrosphere.

Kidzworld: What is your pet peeve when you are out with friends or a girl? What do you just hate people to do?

• Ty: Talk with their mouth full. That’s gross.

Kidzworld: Did either Nick, who is a little older than you, or anyone else on the film give you any acting or life advice?

• Ty: That was more Chris (Pratt). He told me how to not be grossed out by bugs and how to be a man.

Kidzworld: Wow, that’s a wide range of advice! What’s next for you?

• Ty: I have a movie called The Nice Guys that’s gonna come out next year. I play a small part but it’s a big movie. It’s about these detectives who have to solve a porn star murder. It’s got Shane Black directing and stars Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling.  

Kidzworld: Wow, good people in that but it’ll probably be R-rated.

• Ty: Well, there’s also a movie being made called The Ranger’s Apprentice (based on a 12-book series of novels). I’m reading the books and really want to play the main character. His name is Will and there’s horseback riding and archery. It’s fantasy.

Kidzworld: We wish you luck on that and hope you at least get in the film. What would you like to say to tweens and teens about Jurassic World?

• Ty: First of all there’s a lot of dinosaurs in it and Chris Pratt, Bryce Howard and Nick Robinson and it’s (a sequel to) Jurassic Park. That’s awesome!

Jurassic World is in theaters June 12^th!