Jaws child star appointed police chief of town where movie was filmed

Actor and his real-life brother played the two young jokesters who caused mass hysteria on the beach with their fake shark prank

A child actor from Jaws has been appointed the police chief of the town where the classic film was shot.

Jonathan Searle starred alongside his real-life brother in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film, with the boys playing two young jokesters who cause mass hysteria on the beach when they swim in the ocean with a cardboard fin.

Now, 47 years after shooting the thriller, the 56-year-old Martha Vineyard native was voted in to take the top ranking role on the Edgartown police force in Massachusetts.

“I’m finding the whole thing quite funny myself!” Searle told The New York Post.

Despite his role in the classic film, he ultimately chose not to pursue a career in acting, instead choosing to join law enforcement in 1986.

Searle steadily rose the ranks over the years, following in the footsteps of his father who had previously served as the police chief of the force from 1981 to 1995.

“I’m clearly elated and and I’m humbled and honoured to have been offered the position,” Searle told The Vineyard Gazette. “It’s something I’ve been working toward my whole career.”

Jaws (1975) The Fake Shark Prank

Jaws was a box office success, bringing in nearly $500m (£400m) in profits, leading to three more sequels, Jaws 2, Jaws 3-D, and Jaws: The Revenge.