Richard Attenborough, who plays InGen CEO John Hammond, was on a 15 year hiatus from acting when Spielberg approached him about taking a role in Jurassic Park. Attenborough had been directing—in fact, his film Gandhi beat Spielberg’s E.T. for Best Director and Best Picture at the 55th Academy Awards—but said he agreed to end the semi-retirement because Spielberg had “the charm of the devil.”