What happened to the shark from Jaws? The complicated history of ‘Bruce the Shark’

20 June 2025, 16:54 | Updated: 20 June 2025, 17:23

Several animatronics played the role of Jaws’ iconic antagonist.

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is now 50 years old. But what became of the film’s most iconic character?

The lead cast of Jaws went on to enjoy varied careers after starring in the 1975 picture, but the film’s shark (played in reality by several animatronics) had a far more complex post-film afterlife.

• What happened to the cast of Jaws? Iconic film’s history 50 years on
• Indiana Jones star reveals he still receives Christmas gifts from Steven Spielberg after 38 years
• Grease cast: Where are the stars of the 1978 musical now?

Jaws’ shark was given the name ‘Bruce’ by crew working behind-the-scenes on the film, who jokingly took the name of Steven Spielberg’s entertainment lawyer, Bruce Ramer, as inspiration.

Jaws Official Trailer #1 - Richard Dreyfuss, Steven Spielberg Movie (1975) HD

The name stuck, and is now used by film fans to refer collectively to all of the models which were used to depict Jaws’ terrifying great white.

These shark animatronics ended up as the antagonists of the picture on set as well as on screen, as their tendency to malfunction ahead of and during takes caused several troublesome delays to the film shoot.

And after Jaws finally finished filming over 100 days after its principal photography was due to end, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the film’s beleaguered crew shared little fondness for 'Bruce'.

Rather than making an attempt to save the three crumbling mechanical sharks which were used in the film for posterity, the animatronics were abandoned and eventually lost to time – or more accurately their unfortunate tendency to quickly degrade following submersion in salt water.

One might think that this marked the end of the original Jaws shark altogether, but thanks to the film’s promotional tour, this was not the case.

While Jaws’ animatronics have not survived the 50 years since their creation, one static copy of Bruce the Shark which was made for outdoor advertising of the film was saved.

Found in a junkyard in 1990, this version of Bruce (known to fans as ‘Junkyard Bruce’) was saved by Aalden Brothers Auto Wrecking, and lived outside the business until it shut in 2016.

Aware of the important bit of film history his family owned, Nathan Aalden then donated the shark prop to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, who restored the 25ft-long fiberglass model to its original glory.

Bruce now hangs on display in the museum, which is open to the general public via ticketed admission.

Meanwhile, the shark’s legacy lives on in the original Jaws, as well as its sequels Jaws 2, Jaws 3-D, and Jaws: The Revenge.

Bruce also inspired the name of Finding Nemo’s fish-friendly great white shark, Bruce.