Actor Jeffrey Voorhees played doomed youngster Alex Kintner, who gets brutally killed by the shark in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, and he’s admitted “it pays to die”
Jaws star Jeffrey Voorhees is raking it in decades after the iconic film.
He was just 12 year sold when he played Alex Kintner in Steven Spielberg’s legendary shark movie, which came out in 1975 and became the biggest box office hits ever. Jaws made a monstrous £350million and won three Oscars – and its iconic “Da dum, Da dum” theme tune is one of the most famous themes of all time.
Unfortunately, young Alex doesn’t long in the film as he gets brutally killed by the killer shark while out at sea. But it’s proved rather profitable for the actor, who is still raking it in 50 years after the movie and gets paid every time it gets shown on TV.
The star also does paid meet and greets and signings for fans of the classic film. He said: “It pays to die. I was a 12-year-old kid who was in the movie for like a minute, but there are some real Jaws fanatics out there.
“One guy in England just bought 125 photos. I do signings. They fly me all over the world and pay me in cash at those things – around £10,000 a time.”
“There are Jaws tours and people pay double if I’m on them and next month I’m appearing at three Meet, Greet and Mingle Parties. I still get paid every time the film appears on TV.”
His brother will often see him get killed in the film and let him know he’s about go get another cheque. Jeffrey added: “My brother lives in Portugal and I’ll get texts from him going, ‘Good news, you just died on TV over here. You’ll get another cheque'”.
Jeffrey does personalised videos for fans on Cameo for £25.99. He also went on to manage a seafood restaurant on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, where Jaws was filmed.
Director Steven Spielberg has said he “truly regrets” the decline of the shark population following the success of Jaws, his breakout film which launched his legendary career. He told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs he’s worried that sharks are “mad” at him for the “feeding frenzy of crazy sword fishermen that happened after 1975”.
He said the decimation of the shark population as a result of the movie is something “I truly and to this day regret”. The film has been accused of misrepresenting great white sharks and leading to trophy hunting in the US.
He has also admitted he though Jaws would be the last film he ever make. He said, in a video message at a National Geographic world premiere for Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story: “In most circumstances, summer in the Vineyard is a dream. But when you are over budget and over schedule and when I am over my head, that summer of 1974 was a bad dream before it ever became the dream of a lifetime.”
“It details how young and unprepared all of us were for the challenges of shooting in the Atlantic Ocean with a mechanical shark that was more temperamental than any movie star I have ever worked with since, and how in the wake of running over schedule and budget, I truly believed that Jaws would be the last movie I would ever be given to direct.”
Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here .
Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
