Manuel García-Rulfo was, by his own admission, a terrible student. His school was movies, and his earliest and favorite teacher was Steven Spielberg.

“Spielberg really changed, really made me fall in love with movies,” the Guadalajara-born actor says. ”I was always watching movies and going to Blockbuster and to the theaters. And I think that was my school.”

García-Rulfo, who has become well-known for his role as Mickey Haller in the hit Netflix series “The Lincoln Lawyer,” got the ultimate pinch-me call when he learned that the “Jurassic Park” team — Spielberg included — was interested in casting him for a role in the new Universal Studios film “Jurassic World Rebirth.” 

García-Rulfo was at work on “The Lincoln Lawyer” when his agents called to say there was interest.

“They were like, ‘Don’t get your hopes up, we’re just letting you know,’” García-Rulfo says. He returned his focus fully to “The Lincoln Lawyer,” only to hear days later that Spielberg himself and “Rebirth” director Gareth Edwards had seen his work and wanted to offer him the part.

“They sent [the script] to me, I read it in minutes, and I was so excited,” García-Rulfo says. “I couldn’t believe it.”

“Jurassic World Rebirth” follows a group (Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and Rupert Friend) who head into the one remaining part of the world where dinosaurs still dominate, in search of extracting samples for medical purposes. They cross paths with a family, led by dad Reuben Delgado, who had been on a sailing trip when they themselves had a dinosaur encounter.

García-Rulfo’s character Reuben and his family are “the heart of the film,” but García-Rulfo would’ve taken even the smallest of roles. Spielberg is who made him want to be an actor growing up, and he’s been a huge fan of the “Jurassic Park” franchise. 

“The first one, it really changed me, it really opened the doors to this magic world of cinema and really made me say, ‘oh, I want to be part of that world,’” he says. 

A testament to the film is that not only was García-Rulfo able to stomach watching himself on-screen, but have a rather good time doing so.

“I’ve never liked to watch myself in a movie. Maybe I watch it, but I don’t enjoy them,” he says. At the New York premiere, he had planned to dip out after presenting the film for this very reason — “and I started watching it, and it just brings me into it right away.” 

“So I stayed, and it was such a great experience because the audience went crazy with every scene. I can’t wait for people to see this. It’s a really, really good movie, really fun.”

“Jurassic World Rebirth” delivers on big sci-fi action scenes, but maintains plenty of “human connection” that García-Rulfo says is sure to draw people in.

“Dinosaurs are amazing, but the human part of it, the story of Scarlett, and Mahershala, what the family’s going through and all that — it has a lot of heart and really it’s emotional. It’s a mix of everything, he says. 

Days before attending the New York premiere, García-Rulfo and the “Lincoln Lawyer” team wrapped work on the latest season.

“I can’t wait, man. It’s a fun season. It’s very emotional, very heavy,” he teases. “There’s something about the guy. He’s one of those characters who are bigger than life.”