A kid actor who participated in Titanic more than 25 years ago said that he was still collecting royalties for his role in the legendary James Cameron picture.
Reece Thompson, a digital marketing director in Utah, played an Irish third-class passenger in the 1998 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet when he was five years old.
The heartbreaking incident involving the former actor featured him waiting to die in a cabin after his family was unable to acquire a seat on the lifeboats that were rescue passengers as the ship was sinking.
In the film, his one and only phrase was to question his on-screen mother, ‘What are we doing, Mommy?’ ‘We’re simply waiting, sweetie,’ she said.
‘After they finish placing first-class passengers on the boats, they’ll start with us, and we’ll want to be ready, right?’
While speaking with Australia’s Network 10, Reece opened up about his time on set and explained more about life after Titanic.
He said: ‘Yeah, I still do [receive royalty cheques], it’s true.
‘But I haven’t updated my address in several years, honestly since the last time I got interviewed for this.
‘So, I haven’t seen them [the cheques] in a few years. I’m just assuming that they are still coming.’
‘It’s fascinating, I’d say my family and I basically just think it’s amazing that people are still finding it interesting,’ the ex-child star said of the mystery in his life all these years later.
‘My wife and I mostly just get a kick out of comments.
‘They are mostly just interesting to read, but – yeah – it feels like a dream it was so long ago.
‘Any number of different things [are said], honestly, some of the comments I just can’t believe that it’s happening 25 years later.
‘Now people are beginning to associate my face with it, whereas before it was a random fact about me, it’s kind of weird.’
Despite its popularity and numerous plaudits, the film’s leading woman, Kate, lost out on the Oscar for best actress that year to Helen Hunt for her performance in As Good as It Gets.
After its phenomenal box office success, Titanic won 11 Academy Awards, among many others.