Reece Thompson took on a small speaking role in one of the most famous disaster films of all time: Titanic. For this, he still received money regularly years later – sometimes even several thousand dollars.
Released in 1997, Titanic, directed by James Cameron, depicted the great ship disaster and is one of the most successful blockbusters of all time.
A small boy is on board in the film, who asks his mother during the disaster: “What are we doing, Mom?”
The then 5-year-old Reece Thompson had played the role and benefited financially years later from having had the chance to say that one line.
Here you can see a trailer for Titanic:
Thompson had a choice between Titanic and a commercial
At that time, Thompson had the option to either participate in the film Titanic or shoot a commercial, as both were happening simultaneously. Although he would have received more pay for less effort for the commercial clip, his mother and he chose the feature film.
In a total of 3 scenes, Reece Thompson appears as “Irish little Boy”. In these scenes, he says that one line. Then, his Titanic family meets the same tragic fate as many other passengers.
That one line was crucial for the payments because: the silent background actors do not receive residuals, as Thompson does.
How much does Thompson get for the Titanic role? Initially, the boy received his working hours paid out in a fixed rate. But since the film was such a big success, there was an additional payment of around $30,000. His family invested the money for him and later in his education.
Since then, there have been annual so-called residual checks, which amounted to several thousand dollars. The sum increased particularly when there were special Titanic milestones, such as the film’s release on DVD and Blu-ray.
However, the amount of the checks has significantly decreased since then and the former child actor now receives more between $100 and $250 annually.
Is Thompson still receiving money? Theoretically, yes. As msn.com reports, Thompson has since moved and has not updated his address yet.
Thus, no checks have arrived for years. However, the actor calmly states: “I just assume that they are still coming.”
For those who lost a chunk of money through a bad decision, you can read here:
Mel Gibson lost his best role due to bad decisions, missing out on $25 million
