In Spielberg's film, Tim and Lex's ages are swapped and some aspects of his personality and role in the story are given to Lex. Tim is still the child interested in dinosaurs, but all of his computer knowledge is given to Lex. This was done so that Spielberg could work specifically with actor Joseph Mazzello, who was younger than Ariana Richards, and to make Lex into a stronger character. In addition, in deviation from his novel counterpart, Tim never wear spectacles in the film adaptation.