Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Film ·348 of 348
"You're gonna need a bigger boat."
They never said that.
What people say
"You're gonna need a bigger boat."
What was actually said
"We're gonna need a bigger boat." Chief Martin Brody — Jaws (1975)
Why it stuck
Brody includes himself — "we." Quotation usually shifts to the second person, making it accusatory rather than horrified.
The line was improvised by Roy Scheider; the script had different wording.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.