Child Actor Who Played Little Boy In Titanic Still Getting Paid 25 Years Later
The child actor who played the little boy in Titanic is still getting paid for his role 25 years later.
Titanic, directed by James Cameron, is a 1997 romance and disaster film based on the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
At the time of its release, it was most the expensive movie ever made, with an estimated production budget of $200 million.
It won numerous awards, including an Oscar for Best Music and a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture.
And fans may remember a scene featuring a character called ‘Irish little boy’, played by then-five-year-old Reece Thompson.
Watch Titanic director James Cameron get booed by fans in the clip below…
Thompson, now in his early 30s, played the role of a boy who dies alongside his mother and sister as the ship sinks.
One scene shows him with his family while waiting to get on a rescue lifeboat.
Tragically, they couldn’t get on and later, the trio are shown dead in their cabin.
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Although Thompson can’t really remember filming for the Titanic, he’s reminded of it every year as he still receives an annual royalty cheque.
The actor sat down with Business Insider and revealed that his mother was given two options by his talent agent.
Either star in a petrol station advert or take on a small role in a ‘major’ movie.
Apparently, his mum thought it would be ‘cool’ for him to star in the film, even if it didn’t perform well.
Thompson told the outlet: “It turned out to be one of the highest-grossing films in history, so it’s pretty bizarre in retrospect.
“My mum was like: ‘Let’s just do it. It’ll be cool. Even if the movie sucks, we’ll see it’.
“Obviously, it ended up exploding, so that wasn’t a bad decision on her part, that’s for sure.”
His mum’s decision turned out to be a good one, as Thompson to this day still makes money off the back of the movie.
He added: “It’s weird because it’s not present in my mind anymore.
“It’s not like, ‘Oh, when am I going to get a new Titanic cheque?’
“When it happens, it’s like, ‘Oh, cool, an extra $100’.
“There have been a couple of times where it’s been like: ‘Oh, wow, that’s a $250 check’.
“But hopefully, they keep playing it a lot because that means more money for me.”
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However, Thompson has revealed that while he still receives royalties, he no longer cashes them in.
Speaking to Australia’s Network 10 (via Metro), he explained: “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.”
Following his small feature in Titanic, Thompson has gone on to become a digital marketing director for a skiing and snowboarding resort in Utah.
