Godzilla vs. Kong star Rebecca Hall shared a tribute to his on-screen stepdaughter, Kaylee Hottleafter the death of the 18-year-old.
“I'm so sorry to hear the news. My heart goes out to your family. You will be missed, Kaylee,” Hall, 44, captioned a series of photos of herself and Hottle on the 2021 set. Godzilla vs. Kong and its successor in 2024, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empireposted on his Instagram account on Tuesday, July 21.
Hottle played Jia, a deaf teenager who was adopted by Dr. Hall's Ilene Andrews, in good movies. His character communicated with King Kong through sign language.
Hottle's father, Joshua Hottletold TMZ that the actor died following a car accident in Maryland early Tuesday morning. He also confirmed the news to his Facebook followers during a live broadcast, saying he was flying from Texas to look for his body.
The Sheriff County Sheriff's Office confirmed that authorities responded to a one-vehicle crash in Jamesville, Maryland, at 2:52 a.m. Tuesday.
“Initial investigation revealed that a 1995 Honda Accord, driven by a 19-year-old Frederick man, veered off the right side of the two-lane road and struck the turnpike,” the press release said. “Excessive speed is believed to have contributed to the collision.”
The police department said two passengers were in the car as well as the driver. The driver was taken to a local hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, while the other passenger refused medical attention at the scene.
“The second passenger has been identified as Kaylee Hottle, 18, of Kyle, TX,” the release said. “Hottle was transported from the scene to a trauma center, where he was pronounced dead.”
Hottle was born in Atlanta and comes from a multigenerational deaf family. He grew up in Austin, Texas, and attended the Texas School for the Deaf.
As well as- Godzilla vs. Kong films, appeared in a 2021 episode of CBS' Magnum P.I playing a character named Joon.
In 2021, Hottle's Godzilla vs. Kong the costar Alexander Skarsgård revealed that she learned American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with the young actress on set.
“His first film, it's interesting how comfortable he is in front of the camera and how quickly he takes the director's notes. Adam [Wingard],” he told Junkee, “He'll explain something and he'll be like, 'I hear you, I got it.' Then you'll just do it and everybody's like, 'If*** … how did you do it?'”
“He's top notch,” added the actor. “There's a lot going on in his face, the way he looks, and the subtleties of what's fun to watch.”
