5 days ago
‘Jaws' Child Actor Jay Mello Reveals 1 Iconic Scene Wasn't Part of the Script
Jaws is known for more terrifying moments than sweet ones, but 50 years after the film's release, the youngest star from the movie confirmed a long-standing story about a poignant scene.
In an interview with People magazine, Jay Mello, who played Amity Island Police Chief Brody's (Roy Scheider) young son Sean in the 1975 blockbuster, revealed that his habit of mimicking people not only scored him the part, but an extra scene. The scene in question features Mello, then 6, and Scheider at the Brody dining table, where the youngster copies everything his distraught dad does.
"That wasn't even written in the script," Mello told the outlet. "We were taking a break from a scene where I was sitting in a swing set, and we came inside, and Roy Scheider was making funny faces, and I was trying to mimic him. He called Steven Spielberg in and said, 'We've got to add this to the film. This is going to be something.''
'It really touched people's hearts,' Mello added.
In the famous scene, little Sean sips from his glass, folds his hands, buries his face in his hands, and makes a funny face in unison with his dad. Chief Brody then asks the boy to give him a kiss, telling him he needs one.
Director Steven Spielberg addressed the scene in the book Spielberg: The First Ten Years. "I think we improvised that moment on the day,' he told author Laurent Bouzereau, per 'I wanted Roy to show he was depressed, and his son imitates him. It lightens up the mood, and Brody can see that he does have a life outside his job, that he has children and a family."
Mello also explained how his copying caught Spielberg's eye when he accompanied his two older brothers to an audition for the film on Martha's Vineyard. "I had a habit of copying people," Mello told People. "So when Steven Spielberg was interviewing them, I was copying him as he gave direction. When the interview was over, he said, 'You boys can go, we're done. But the youngest can stay.'"'Jaws' Child Actor Jay Mello Reveals 1 Iconic Scene Wasn't Part of the Script first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 23, 2025
