Quint is the professional shark hunter hired to catch the great white in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws.
Quint is a solitary, experienced seaman who offers his services after a shark begins attacking swimmers near Amity Island. His practical knowledge and obsessive determination make him a crucial member of the hunt, alongside police chief Martin Brody and marine biologist Matt Hooper.
The character is played by Robert Shaw, whose performance gives Quint a mixture of menace, humor, and vulnerability. His monologue about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis became one of the film’s best-known scenes and explains part of his hatred of sharks.
Quint is sometimes confused with Hooper, who studies sharks scientifically, or Brody, who leads the town’s law-enforcement response. The three men have different roles aboard the boat Orca during the final pursuit.