Jonathan Searle, who played a toddler in the famous film Jaws, is set to become the police chief of the town where the film was filmed.
Jaws was filmed in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, on Martha’s Vineyard in 1974 and released the following year. Searle and his real-life brother Steven play two children who stage a shark hoax using a fake fin to deceive the residents of Amity, a fictional town.
Since 1985, Searle has been a member of the town’s police force. According to NBC Philadelphia, his work resembled his role in the film in 2008, when he was involved in arresting a man with disorderly conduct for lying about sharks in the region.
In a social media post commemorating the 50th anniversary of Jaws, the Edgartown Police Department, to which he belongs, paid respect to his participation in the film. “Any day we can brag about Sgt. Searle being in Jaws is a good day!!” they wrote.
Following a 3–1 vote and interviews with two other potential candidates, Searle’s ascension to chief was announced on May 16. Searle told The Vineyard Gazette, “I’m definitely elated and flattered and honored to have been offered the post.” “I’ve been working toward it my entire professional life.”
When asked about his transition from Jaws to police chief, Searle told The New York Post, “I’m finding the whole thing pretty humorous!”
Meanwhile, a reboot of Jaws was turned down by Steven Spielberg at Universal last year.
Details in a new Deadline report about the filmmaker’s upcoming Netflix production contract indicated that his production business, Amblin, had previously been in talks with the studios, with the response always being “a strong no.”