The Hollywood Show: This ‘Jaws’ Actor Didn’t Know He Was Filming the Movie’s Most Iconic Scene
What To Know
- Jeffrey Voorhees played Alex Kintner — the boy killed by the shark — in the iconic 1975 film Jaws.
- Voorhees was cast after signing up as an extra and was surprised when Steven Spielberg gave him a speaking part.
- At the time of filming, Voorhees did not know he would be part of a famous scene.
Actor Jeffrey Voorhees might not be a recognizable name, but as a child, he managed to traumatize an entire generation into staying out of the ocean. As a boy, Voorhees played Alex Kintner, the 12-year-old killed by the shark on the Fourth of July in the 1975 film Jaws.
A local Martha’s Vineyard resident, Voorhees was far from a professional actor when he got the chance of a lifetime to become shark chow for director Steven Spielberg. Speaking at the Hollywood Show, Voorhees shared that the Oscar-winning filmmaker not only helped him secure the role of Alex, but also guided him through the process. At the time, Voorhees had no idea he was about to become part of one of the most iconic scenes in movie history.
“I just moved to Martha’s Vineyard back in the ’70s, and ended up in a movie,” Voorhees told ReMIND. “We just moved there, and they said, ‘Oh, we need a lot of extras. And they’ll pay like $40 a day to be in the movie.’ So, I’m signing up! I didn’t know what the movie was, and Spielberg, he was only 27.”
Karen Ruud
At the time, he thought it was a non-speaking role, until Spielberg handed him far more paperwork than any child actor with no lines would normally receive, making it clear the part was something much bigger.
“I got a call back, and [Spielberg] said, ‘Read these lines.’ I said, ‘All this to be just an extra?’ He said, ‘No. Fill in the paperwork. Join the union. We got you a speaking part,'” recalled Voorhees. “And I didn’t know I was going to die. I didn’t even know the name of the movie. Then I find out I’m eaten by a shark!”
Today, Voorhees doesn’t live far from where he once got devoured by a Great White for the amusement of millions. “I still live on Martha’s Vineyard, on Amity Island. I still walk my dog every day where I got chowed. It’s fun.”
— Additional reporting by Karen Ruud.
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