 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 <unk> , 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 " . 
