 Cameron Thor had previously worked with Spielberg on Hook, and initially auditioned for the role of Malcolm, before trying out for the role of Dodgson. Thor said about casting, "It just said'shaving-cream can' in the script, so I spent endless time in a drug store to find the most photogenic. I went with Barbasol, which ended up in the movie. I was so broke that I took the can home after the audition to use it." Laura Dern was Spielberg's first choice for the role of Ellie Sattler. Spielberg chose to cast Wayne Knight after seeing his acting performance in Basic Instinct, saying, "I waited for the credits to roll and wrote his name down".
