“Jaws” Child Actor-Turned-Local Police Chief Reveals How Many Shark Attacks They’ve Had in Real Life 

Jonathan Searle took part in one of the movie’s iconic scenes, and, 51 years later, he’s the chief of police in a town on Martha’s Vineyard, where the movie was made

NEED TO KNOW

• Jonathan Searle appeared in 1975’s Jaws, and, over 50 years later, he’s now the chief of police in a town on Martha’s Vineyard
• Jonathan, who had an iconic scene in the movie alongside his brother Steven, revealed how many shark attacks the area actually has
• Jaws starred Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw

Jonathan Searle was once an extra on the set of 1975’s Jaws, but he’s since become the chief of police in town.

Jonathan, 60, and his brother Steven Searle opened up to Remind Magazine about making the movie in an interview published July 6.

“It was a great summer where we went to the beach. They paid us, they fed us, they watched us,” Jonathan remembered of the Steven Spielberg-directed film, about a killer shark that wreaks havoc on a beach town. “I think it was a dream for a parent.” 

Jonathan and Steven, 64, were both locals to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., as were many of the other extras. The pair ultimately got to appear on camera in a major way when, midway through the movie, they played a prank with a fake shark fin. In the movie, Jonathan blamed Steven for making him do it. The pair was ultimately removed from the water.

Now, Jonathan serves as chief of police in Oak Bluffs, one of the towns in Martha’s Vineyard. Asked how he ended up with that job, he said he had “a strong law enforcement career” before becoming chief of police in 2022. 

Remind asked him about how many shark attacks they’ve actually had during his tenure. “Zero. Never,” Jonathan said.

However, there was one shark-related incident.

“The only shark bite that we had was someone fishing for sharks and caught one. It was hooked, and they were dragging him into the surf. The shark slid into him riding a wave and accidentally bit him in the leg,” he said.

Jonathan added that while Martha’s Vineyard has been relatively shark-free, Cape Cod, across the bay, has had “a couple of incidents.”

Jonathan also reflected on how Jaws helped put Martha’s Vineyard on the map.

“Our population now is, I’m guessing, two and a half times what it was back in the seventies, and a lot of year-round population,” he said.

For the 50th anniversary of Jaws last year, he said there was a “huge influx” of tourists who came to celebrate the movie.

Jaws starred Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as marine biologist Matt Hooper and Robert Shaw as Quint, a professional shark hunter.

Murray Hamilton played the town’s mayor, Larry Vaughn, who is more worried about the town’s economy than he is the threat from the sharks.

Lorraine Gary played Ellen Brody, Martin’s wife, and Jay Mello played Sean Brody, the couple’s youngest son. The movie was based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley.

Jaws became the very first summer blockbuster and was the highest-grossing movie of all time (until Star Wars dethroned it two years later). The movie was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture, and won three: for Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score (for John Williams’ iconic theme) and Best Sound. Jaws also spawned three sequels, though none were critically or commercially successful. 

Reflecting on the movie’s legacy, Steven told Remind, “Who’d have thought, 50 years later, it’s still relevant. Looking at the people here and everybody that’s coming by, just the following. It’s quite flattering, actually. It was a good experience, and we were lucky to be part of it.”

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